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Farnaz Fassihi
For Farnaz Fassihi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Iranians at an anti-Israeli rally after Friday prayers in Tehran. An Israeli airstrike on Iran on Friday damaged an air defense system, according to Western and Iranian officials, in an attack calculated to deliver a message that Israel could bypass Iran's defensive systems undetected and paralyze them.
WORLD
Apr 21, 2024
Israel’s strike on Iran highlights its ability to evade Tehran’s air defenses
The strike Friday was the latest salvo between the two countries this month that have heightened fears of a broader regional conflict.
A funeral procession in Tehran for seven Iranian military commanders killed by an Israeli airstrike in Syria, on April 5. American intelligence analysts and officials said Friday that they expected Iran to strike multiple targets inside Israel within the next few days in retaliation for an Israeli bombing in the Syrian capital on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 13, 2024
U.S. targets unlikely to be on list in possible Iranian attack, officials say
In anticipation of the strikes, several countries have issued new guidelines to their citizens about travel in Israel and the surrounding region.
Mourners gather in Tehran on Friday for the funerals of senior Iranian military and intelligence officials killed in Israel's bombing of the Iranian Embassy building in Damascus, Syria.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2024
Israel and U.S. are on alert for Iran to strike back at Israel
Analysts say Iran is more likely to strike Israel itself than through Hezbollah, its closest militant ally.
Houthi supporters and other protesters rally in solidarity with the Palestinians in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2024
After U.S. strikes, Iran’s proxies scale back attacks on U.S. bases
Tehran, wary of igniting open warfare with Washington, has told militia groups it backs to curtail assaults on targets such as military installations.
"Prepare your coffins," a banner warns Iran's adversaries in Tehran, on Jan. 16. After hitting targets in neighboring Pakistan, Iraq and Syria with missiles, Iran has played up not only its military capabilities but its determination to strike enemies at will.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2024
Attacks in Syria and Iraq ratchet tensions in a region on edge
Some of the attacks had no apparent connection to Gaza but taken together, they underlined how easy a broader conflict could arise.
A large billboard depicting an Iranian missile with a phrase in Persian that reads "prepare your coffins" on the side of a building in Tehran on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2024
Iran says missile strikes show it will be ‘tough and decisive’
Supporters of Iran’s authoritarian clerical regime have been incensed by recent attacks on Iran that made it appear vulnerable, demanding a powerful response.
Supporters of the Houthi movement hold a rally to denounce air strikes launched by the U.S. and the U.K. on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday.
WORLD
Jan 13, 2024
The regional war no one wanted is here. How wide will it get?
Following the U.S.-led strikes on nearly 30 sites in Yemen on Thursday, there is no longer a question of whether there will be a regional conflict. It has already begun.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 26, 2023
Their hair long and flowing or in ponytails, women in Iran flaunt their locks
After the death of a women held by the morality police, women have been at the center of a nationwide uprising, demanding an end to hijab requirements and the Islamic Republic itself.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 22, 2022
Protest chants, a riot and gunshots: How a prison fire unfolded in Iran
The cause of the fire remains unclear, but witnesses and families of prisoners say that the authorities had been bracing for unrest in the notorious Evin Prison in northern Tehran.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 16, 2022
Fire erupts at Iran’s most notorious prison amid national protests
Contradictory reports on social media cited an explosive device, an attempted escape and an infiltration of the prison from the outside.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 16, 2022
Why Ukraine war crimes trials could take many years
Long after the fighting ends, any prosecutions and trials arising from it could be barely beginning. Here is a look at the complexities of bringing aggressors to justice.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2022
U.S. and allies close to reviving nuclear deal with Iran, officials say
A return to a 2015 accord is on the table, but the next decisions are up to the new government in Tehran, the Biden administration says.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 19, 2021
The scientist and the AI-assisted, remote-control killing machine
Israeli agents had wanted to kill Iran's top nuclear scientist for years. Then they came up with a way to do it with no operatives present.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 29, 2020
Brazen killings expose Iran’s vulnerabilities as it struggles to respond
The operations are confronting Tehran with an agonizing choice between embracing the demands of hard-liners for swift retaliation or seeking a fresh start with a new U.S. leader.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 28, 2020
Gunmen assassinate Iran’s top nuclear scientist in ambush, provoking new crisis
For two decades, the scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was the driving force behind what U.S. and Israeli officials describe as Iran's secretive nuclear weapons program.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 14, 2020
Al-Qaida’s No. 2, accused in U.S. Embassy attacks, is secretly killed in Iran
Israeli agents shot Abu Muhammad al-Masri on the streets of Tehran at the behest of the U.S., intelligence officials have confirmed.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Oct 24, 2020
A #MeToo awakening stirs in Iran
Three years into the global #MeToo movement, women who say they have been sexually assaulted are improbably going public in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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