Since Ahmad al-Sharaa came to power in Syria, the Damascus government has been given carte blanche to use maximum force against any threat to its continued rule, writes VIJAY PRASHAD

AFTER five months of unceasing protest and activism by tens of thousands of young women and men in Iran, demanding that their fundamental human and democratic rights be respected, the political landscape in the country is beginning to shift dramatically.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was prevented from taking office having won the 2009 presidential elections following a hugely popular campaign, has published his manifesto for the rescuing of Iran and a political transition away from the decades-old dictatorship.
Mousavi has been kept under house arrest at his closed-off residence in Tehran for 13 years now, along with his wife Zahra Rahnavard — herself a prominent and well-respected activist.

Payam Solhtalab talks to GAWAIN LITTLE, general secretary of Codir, about the connection between the struggle for peace, against banking and economic sanctions, and the threat of a further military attack by the US/Israel axis on Iran


