Highlights in the last quarter

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Subject: Highlights in the last quarter - Summer 2025

a digital magazine of culture, society and thoughtful enquiry

Highlights in the last quarter - Summer 2025

As war erupted between Iran and Israel, and fractious frenzy gripped public discussions and social media, we aimed to be a platform for calm, rational thinking and deeper understanding of events. We also turned our focus to the mass expulsion of Afghans from Iran - a fallout from the war - offering a humane perspective amid a wave of anti-Afghan sentiment and calls for their removal.

In a substantial interview, Parastou Forouhar - leading artist and human rights defender -reflected on the war, Iranians’ conflicting feelings about it, the difference between justice and revenge, and why civil resistance and the demand for justice, rather than war, is the best way forward in Iran. She also spoke about the values and aspirations that can unite the nation around a shared vision of the common good. The interview was widely shared on social media, viewed by over half a million users, and drew thousands of comments. https://www.aasoo.org/fa/multimedia/videos/5163

Parastou Forouhar - leading artist and human rights defender

Life in the Shadow of War
We published a series of thoughtful accounts from Iranians living through war: waking in the middle of the night to the thunder of air raids; no public shelters, no sirens, no trust in state media or officials; the mass exodus from Tehran, leaving behind deserted, silent streets. People offering lifts to total strangers, volunteering to care for elderly and sick neighbours left behind. Long queues for bread, food, and petrol - yet many buying only what they needed, so others could have their share. Banks and ATMs closed for days. Crowds gathering daily along the Caspian coast, standing quietly, staring out at the sea. And everywhere: trauma, anxiety, and a gnawing fear of the future.

Eminent sociologist Asef Bayat continued his exchanges with imprisoned scholar Saeed Madani through a new letter published in aasoo. Responding to Madani’s letter published in aasoo back in November, Bayat analysed the challenges confronting the Iranian opposition, particularly in the wake of the war with Israel. The letter was widely shared by Iran’s intellectual community on social media. One high profile user commented: “These exchanges will remain part of our history". https://www.aasoo.org/fa/articles/5168

Mass expulsion of Afghans from Iran
We published an in-depth interview with Afghan-Iranian writer and human rights campaigner Zahra Mousavi, who spoke powerfully about what it means to belong nowhere. Born and raised in Iran but denied citizenship, and seen as an outsider in Afghanistan - the land of her parents - she described the painful experience of living between two countries yet feeling at home in neither. The interview struck a deep chord: it was viewed by more than half a million people and drew thousands of comments. Iranians and Afghans engaged passionately, debating the issues she raised and sharing their own stories of exclusion, identity, and belonging. https://www.aasoo.org/index.php/fa/multimedia/videos/5166

Afghan-Iranian writer and human rights campaigner Zahra Mousavi

We also reported on the plight of expelled Afghans and spoke with a number of women, who told us about their struggles while they lived in Iran, and their fears of the uncertain and bleak future that awaits them in Afghanistan.

Just a year ago, our book series featured "Leaden Days" by Afghan migrant, Yunes Heydari - a powerful memoir of his detention in Iran’s notorious Sefid Sang border camp before being expelled to Afghanistan over 25 years ago. Through his journal entries, Heydari captured the stark realities of a place that has come to symbolize homelessness, humiliation, and violence in the collective memory of Afghan migrants.

Leaden Days Book cover by Yunes Heydari

Growing reach

Our content reached around 4 million views in the last three months - a nearly 50% increase - and while our social media following grew by about 5,000.

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Subject: Highlights in the last quarter - Summer 2025