Media - European Foundation for Democracy

Article 24 January 2013

Iran: Public executions and amputations

Iran executes thieves to spread fear and terror among the Iranian people. However, it is more than a little doubtful that such harsh punishments will enable the regime to solve the social problems it faces....

Article 24 January 2013

Russia’s many interests in Syria

EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya discusses Russia's determination to support the Assad regime in Syria....

Article 23 January 2013

Chair of the Iranian parliament: Israel is a “cancerous tumour”

Ali Larijani, chairperson of the Iranian pseudo-parliament, attended the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) in Khartoum, Sudan on 21st and 22nd January, where he defended the Assad regime and spoke of Israel as a “cancerous tumour”....

Article 21 January 2013

Hezbollah’s time is up

In addition to the European Union proscribing Hezbollah, NATO must also enforce a buffer zone between Lebanon and Israel....

Article 10 January 2013

Made in Iran: Islamist anti-Semitism

It has been reported by Farsnews that an anti-Semitic cartoon festival on the Holocaust is being organised in response to Charlie Hebdo's latest move....

Article 09 January 2013

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei maintains that in no other country elections are as free as in Iran

EFD'S Wahied Wahdat-Hagh discusses Ali Khamenei's statement: "Stop constantly saying that elections must be free"....

Article 21 December 2012

Iran is in social and economic meltdown

With unemployment soaring and the advent of hyperinflation, the plight of ordinary workers just gets worse and worse....

Article 12 December 2012

Iranian general praises the weapons of Lebanese Hezbollah

Iranian Air Force general, Amirali Hajizadeh, praises the weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah saying their missiles are "a hundred times" stronger than the weapons of the eight-day war against Israel that "were used by the Palestinians in Gaza."...

Article 07 December 2012

Iranian oppressors speak on behalf of the oppressed

Iranian students remember the "Day of the Student" to anti-dictatorial demonstrations, a day which recalls to 7th December 1953. But while many human rights-oriented students are arrested, the oppressors continue to speak on behalf of the student movement. At universities, gender discrimination against women increases. Worse still, Baha'is are not even allowed to study....

Article 04 December 2012

Iran criticises German arms exports

Iran criticises deployment of German Patriot missiles to defend Turkish border with Syria. Iranian newspaper Mashregh claims Germany is attempting to increase its influence in NATO by exporting arms....

Article 30 November 2012

Terrorist conference in Tehran

On 28th November 2012 a conference was held in Tehran to discuss the eight day war in Gaza. Star guests included Khaled Ghodumi of Hamas and Nasser Abu Sharif of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine....

Article 21 November 2012

Just how rational are Iranian authorities?

Many politicians, scholars, and journalists believe that the Iranian authorities are "rational actors". How correct are they in making this assumption?...

Article 18 November 2012

20,000 Basij fighters ready to fight Israel

For years Iran has supplied military aid to organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah. The leaders of the "Islamic Republic of Iran" views Gaza as the opportunity to open a front between itself and Israel. 20,000 fighters in the Basij paramilitary volunteer militia have declared themselves ready and willing to go to Gaza and fight Israel....

Article 16 November 2012

Iran financing an asymmetrical war on Israel and the US

For years Iran has been supporting and financing aggression against Israel and the US. It’s high time that the EU outlaws Hezbollah....

Article 09 November 2012

The Iranian regime and its hostility toward the US

Iran's foreign policy is determined by guidelines defined by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Therefore, Iran will only open dialogue with the US if it stops supporting Israel....

Article 02 November 2012

Iran: Trade instead of sanctions

Under Ahmadinejad German-Iranian trade relations are better than even during the best years of the Pahlavi dynasty. Nevertheless, Iran’s economic problems are growing....

Article 26 October 2012

President of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani and human rights

During a mission to Iran, German MPs met Ali Larijani in Tehran – well known for calling for the execution of homosexuals. Larijani even complained in a speech that he comes across homosexual Foreign Ministers from Europe. By this, of course, he means Guido Westerwelle, German Foreign Minister....

Article 25 October 2012

Factory visits in Isfahan… German human rights policy in action?

While three German MPs claim their visit to Iran is to discuss human rights and culture, Iranian newspapers are reporting on their plans to visit automobile manufacturing facilities in Isfahan....

Article 22 October 2012

Iran: Calls to commit US$10 million to manipulating Western media

Over 60 Iranian MPs have signed a petition requesting the Iranian government to commit at least US$10 million to manipulating international media in Europe and the US....

Article 19 October 2012

Baroness Ashton – steering EU towards blasphemy laws?

The right not to be offended has no place in a democracy. Nor do blasphemy laws....

Article 19 October 2012

Is terror propaganda being openly disseminated in Germany?

Is official Iranian news agency, the IRIB World Service, openly publishing hate propaganda on behalf of terrorist organisations in Germany in the German language?...

Article 16 October 2012

Iran closes Christian home churches & warns Europe on further sanctions

The Iranian regime has closed at least two home churches and arrested the Iranian Christians involved. At the same time, an Iranian politician warns Europe that Iran will halt the export of gas to the continent....

Broadcast 13 October 2012

Iran: interreligious war to trigger serious consequences

EFD's Wahied Wahdat-Hagh speaks to the Voice of Russia about the consequences of an inter-religious war in Iran....

Interview 12 October 2012

Military intervention in Mali: « The UN fears a possible failure »

EFD Senior Fellow Bakary Sambe discusses the prospect of military intervention in Mali with Ouestafnews....

Broadcast 11 October 2012

Sanctions on Iran: the real impact?

EFD's Wahied Wahdat-Hagh discusses the impact of international sanctions on Iran with Russian radio, the Voice of Russia....

Article 10 October 2012

Ali Khamenei: Sanctions have nothing to do with the nuclear programme

Ali Khamenei downplays the impact of sanctions on Iran, arguing that they have been in force in various forms since 1979. He claimed that even if Iran halted its nuclear programme the sanctions would remain....

Broadcast 09 October 2012

Bakary Sambe, EFD Senior Fellow, speaks to the BBC on the crisis in Mali

Le 19 octobre, la Cédéao, l'Union africaine et l'ONU se donnent rendez-vous à Bamako pour une réunion consacrée à la crise que vit le Mali depuis le début de l'année. Un rencontre qui intervient après celle organisée la semaine dernière à Bamako par la Coalition pour le Mali pour dénoncer l'occupation et la partition de fait du pays. Bakary Sambe est spécialiste du militantisme islamique et des réseaux transnationaux, pour lui, l...

Broadcast 07 October 2012

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour appears on West Deutscher Rundfunk

EFD Policy Advisor Ahmad Mansour appears live on the talkshow West Art on West Deutscher Rundfunk to discuss anti-Semitism within Muslim communities in Germany....

Article 03 October 2012

Iran: “We only need an excuse and 24 hours to destroy Israel”

The leader of the Quds Force terrorist group says, “We only need an excuse and 24 hours to destroy Israel”....

Article 26 September 2012

Iran: Oil revenues being diverted into military & nuclear programmes

Iran has huge, fundamental economic problems. Despite this, the Islamist rulers of Iran are continuing to divert oil revenues into military hardware and the nuclear programme....

Article 20 September 2012

US sanctions and the Iranian export of terrorism

The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on 117 Iranian aircraft operated by Iran Air, Mahan Air and Yas Air. With the assistance of the terrorist organisation, Hezbollah, Iran is aiding the Assad regime in continuing to commit crimes against its own people....

Article 14 September 2012

Iranian Revolutionary Guard takes control of churches

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have taken control of two churches in Isfahan and are using intimidation and threats of arrest against those who attempt to enter....

Article 10 September 2012

Iran’s crazed gay bashers

Conspiracy is rife in certain sections of Iranian society when it comes to issues such as Israel, the US, and homosexuality. Sadly, mainstream media outlets also play their part....

Article 06 September 2012

Iran’s failed attempt at unifying the Non-Aligned countries

At a recent meeting in Tehran, the Iranian regime did not succeed in uniting the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) against Israel. Despite this, UN Secretary General Ban Kim Moon was the only representative who protested the State-sponsored anti-Semitism propagated by the Iranian leader Ali Khamenei....

Article 29 August 2012

A barometer for freedom and equality in Egypt

The persecution of minorities in an Islamic society is truly a barometer of the lack of freedom and equality that prevails there....

Article 24 August 2012

Training ground of the dictatorship

Spokesperson of the Iranian Dervish in Europe, Dr. Mostafa Azmayesh, explains why cooperation with Islamist institutions does not lead to an open society in Iran but strengthens the dictatorship instead....