This is Beirut

Shakespeare’s 'King Lear' Rocks Tehran with Beat and Passion

This is Beirut, 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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An Iranian director is bringing a jolt of energy to King Lear, staging the Shakespearean tragedy in Persian in Tehran with electrifying rock music and dazzling lights to draw in younger crowds. In Iran, artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, and playwrights constantly walk a fine line to avoid censorship of content considered inappropriate by ...

Iran President in Oman as Nuclear Talks Progress

This is Beirut, 27/05 19:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday began a two-day visit to Oman, which is mediating ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. Pezeshkian travelled to Muscat looking to promote "peace and stability," he said, two days after US President Donald Trump described the latest negotiations as "very, very good." "We hope to engage ...

Judge 'Assassinated' in Southern Iran

This is Beirut, 27/05 11:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Judge Assassination

A criminal court judge in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in Fars province was assassinated Tuesday morning on his way to work, the judiciary said. "This morning, two individuals attacked and assassinated Judge Ehsan Bagheri, head of Branch 102 of the Criminal Court 2 in Shiraz, while he was on his way to work," the judiciary's Mizan Online ...

Filmmaker Panahi Cheered on Return to Iran After Cannes Triumph

This is Beirut, 26/05 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Iranian filmmaker Jafar Pahani was given a hero's welcome on his return to Tehran Monday by supporters after winning the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, footage posted on social media showed. After being banned from leaving Iran for years, forced to make films underground and enduring spells in prison, Panahi attended the French ...

The Future of US-Iranian Negotiations

Charles Chartouni, 26/05 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The finalization of negotiations between Iran and the United States is unending guesswork. What are the benchmarks that we should enlist if we were to track the evolution of the process, and is there any deadline that we may expect down the road? Unfortunately, none of these questions is likely to be answered since the Iranian agenda is shifting ...

Iran Summons French Diplomat over Minister's Cannes Remarks

This is Beirut, 25/05 19:42 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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France's envoy in Tehran was summoned Sunday over "insulting" comments by France's foreign minister after an Iranian film won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, state media reported. In a post on X after dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or on Saturday, Jean-Noel Barrot called his victory "a ...

'Just an Accident:' The Iranian Film That Won Over Cannes and Took Home the Palme d’Or

Bélinda Ibrahim, 25/05 18:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

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From the very start of this 78th edition, the tone was set. The official poster, showing a couple running along a beach, taken from Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman, said it all: a nod to romance, but also to the familiar. This year, Cannes offered both comfort and disruption. Comfort, in the form of familiar faces: Claude Lelouch, Daniel ...

Jafar Panahi Honored at Cannes: A Palme d’Or for Freedom

This is Beirut, 24/05 21:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The curtain came down on the 78th Cannes Film Festival Saturday night with a deeply symbolic moment on the Croisette: Iranian director and political dissident Jafar Panahi was awarded the Palme d’Or for his underground film It Was Just an Accident. Shot in secret, the film moved the jury—chaired by Juliette Binoche—who granted it the ...

Nuclear Negotiations in Rome End Without Final Agreement Between Iran and the US

This is Beirut, 23/05 18:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The fifth round of nuclear negotiations between Iranian and US delegations held in Rome on Friday has ended, the Omani foreign minister who mediated the talks said. "The fifth round of Iran US talks have concluded today in Rome with some but not conclusive progress," Badr Albusaidi said on X, adding that he hoped "the remaining issues" will be ...

Palestinian Factions Close to Iran Forced Out of Syria Amid Power Shift

This is Beirut, 23/05 18:20 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The leaders of pro-Iran Palestinian factions close to former ruler Bashar al-Assad have left Syria under pressure from the new authorities, Palestinian sources said Friday, a key US demand for lifting sanctions. A pro-Iran Palestinian faction leader who left Syria after Assad's December overthrow said on condition of anonymity that "most of the ...

Saeed Roustaee at Cannes: Filming for Iran, Despite the Cost

This is Beirut, 23/05 13:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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“It’s very important to me that my films are seen by people in my country,” said Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee in an interview with AFP. Three years after Leila’s Brothers, Roustaee is back in competition at Cannes with a film that received official shooting permits. After his previous visit to the Croisette in 2022, the 35-year-old ...

Iran Says Will Hold US Responsible For Any Israeli Attack On its Nuclear Sites

This is Beirut, 22/05 17:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would hold the United States responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities, after US media reported that Israel was preparing for a strike. The report came even as Iran and the United States were set to meet in Rome on Friday for a fifth round of Omani-mediated nuclear talks. "We ...

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