Reporting – Alex Shams

Lebanon Reporting

‘They Hit Everyone and Anyone’: From Lebanon, residents share what life has been like since Israel launched its attack.

October 2, 2024 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Oct 2, 2024 in New York Magazine. As told to Alex Shams. On September 17, Israel launched a military assault in Lebanon. It began with attacks that

Iran Reporting

They Risked Their Lives for Freedom in Iran. Now They Fear Israel’s Bombs.

April 29, 2024 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Truthout on April 29, 2024. Having survived waves of domestic repression, protesters in Iran are now in the crosshairs of Israeli bombs. In fall 2022, they were

Palestine Reporting

How Jesus’s Hometown Is Coping With War at Christmas

December 24, 2023 by Alex Shams

Originally published on The New Republic on Dec. 24, 2023. Bethlehem is usually brimming with cheer—and tourists—this time of year. But the war in Gaza has turned it into a

Arab World Palestine Reporting

‘They Don’t Want People to Know We Exist’: Palestinians across the West Bank describe what life has been like since October 7

November 10, 2023 by Alex Shams

Originally published in New York Magazine on Nov. 10, 2023. Over the last month, Israel launched an assault across the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack, in

Iran Reporting

‘We Have to Know When to Hope and When to Be Hopeless’: How six Iranians feel about the Woman Life Freedom movement, one year later

September 16, 2023 by Alex Shams

First published in New York Magazine on Sept. 16, 2023. As told to Alex Shams. One year has passed since protests first broke out across Iran following the killing of

Iran Reporting

How Bazaar: The surprising way a Japanese soap opera shaped the Iranian secondhand economy

September 1, 2023 by Alex Shams

Originally published in Mildew Magazine, Sep 2023, based on an article in Ajam Media Collective.

Iran Reporting

‘We Have Broken the Wall of Fear’: Iranian protesters on what brings them back to the streets four weeks in

October 13, 2022 by Alex Shams

Originally published in New York Magazine on Oct. 13, 2022. Written by Alex Shams. Since mid-September, Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini

Featured Iran Reporting

Hormuz: A Psychedelic Ride through a Geological Wonder

September 8, 2022 by Alex Shams

The Strait of Hormuz gets a bad rap. Sandwiched between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, this narrow channel sees a third of global oil

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