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Featured Iran

Looking A Tyrant In the Eye: Iran’s Long Struggle for Freedom and Justice

March 16, 2026 by Alex Shams

Originally published in TIME magazine on March 14, 2026. I knew he was watching. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s portrait is everywhere in Iran. His head is usually turned slightly away, while

Featured Iran Israel

Iran After Khamenei

March 14, 2026 by Alex Shams

Originally published in the Boston Review on March 3, 2026. An interview with sociologist Asef Bayat on the U.S.-Israeli war, democratic opposition to the Islamic Republic, and the country’s uncertain

Featured Iran Reporting

Hormuz: A Psychedelic Ride through a Geological Wonder

September 8, 2022 by Alex Shams

Originally published in Kinfolk Islands in September 2022, pgs. 74-85. The Strait of Hormuz gets a bad rap. Sandwiched between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, this

Featured Iran Mexico Reporting

Inside Mexico’s deep and unexpected legacy of Iranians

July 29, 2022 by Alex Shams

The Iranian presence in Mexico dates back centuries, but became even more pronounced when the Shah of Iran sought refuge there after he was overthrown in 1979. Originally published on

Featured Iran Reporting

Feats of Strength and Street Politics in Tehran – مواقع القوة وسياسات الشارع في طهران

July 26, 2022 by Alex Shams

Originally published in Journal Safar in September 2021 as part of Issue VI: Power. On the nights leading up to Ashura, the streets of Tehran turn a thousand shades of

Featured Iran Reporting

From City to Slope in Iran

September 13, 2021 by Alex Shams

Originally published in Kinfolk Travel in September 2021, pgs. 146-153.

Featured Iran Pakistan

Naskh va Taaliq: Connections Between Iran and Pakistan, Old and New

March 27, 2021 by Alex Shams

In February 2020, I was invited on behalf of Ajam Media Collective to organize a workshop at the Lahore Biennale. Entitled, “Naskh va Taaliq,” the workshop explored cultural connections between

Featured Iran Reporting

Poetry fills Tehran streets as Iranians adapt Nowruz rituals to Corona restrictions

March 24, 2020 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on March 24, 2020. This is the second article in a series about how Iranians are adjusting their lives as they enter the second

Arab World Featured Oman Reporting

Muscat: Where the Arab World Meets the Indian Ocean

August 27, 2019 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on August 27, 2019. All photos by author Alex Shams. In Muscat’s souq, Arabic, Baluchi, Urdu, Hindi, and Malayalam mix freely, alongside a variety

Featured India Iraq Israel Palestine Reporting

Amba: The Iraqi Mango Pickle from India That Tops Palestinian Shawarma

October 22, 2018 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on October 22, 2018. Step into any Palestinian shawarma shop and the choice of toppings traverse a mouth-watering array of options: thick tahini-and-parsley bakdoonsiyyeh, crushed shatta peppers

Looking A Tyrant In the Eye: Iran’s Long Struggle for Freedom and Justice

Iran After Khamenei

Hormuz: A Psychedelic Ride through a Geological Wonder

Inside Mexico’s deep and unexpected legacy of Iranians

Feats of Strength and Street Politics in Tehran – مواقع القوة وسياسات الشارع في طهران

From City to Slope in Iran

Naskh va Taaliq: Connections Between Iran and Pakistan, Old and New

Poetry fills Tehran streets as Iranians adapt Nowruz rituals to Corona restrictions

Muscat: Where the Arab World Meets the Indian Ocean

Amba: The Iraqi Mango Pickle from India That Tops Palestinian Shawarma

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