Parvaneh Amir-Afshari (born March 17, 1945), widely known by her stage name Homeyra , is one of the most celebrated figures of Iranian music. With a career spanning more than half a century, she has become a symbol of the golden age of Persian traditional and pop music, admired for her extraordinary vocal range and emotional depth. According to her …

The cabaret industry in Iran, although relatively short-lived in its classic form, occupies a fascinating chapter in the cultural and social history of the country. Unlike Europe, where cabarets developed in the late 19th century as artistic and satirical venues, and unlike the United States, where jazz clubs and musical theaters shaped nightlife, the Iranian cabaret grew from a complex …

On the evening of Saturday, September 5, 2025, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra marked its 100th anniversary with a concert held at the Persepolis World Heritage Complex, one of Iran’s most iconic historical sites. The orchestra performed a repertoire that included the enduring patriotic piece “O Iran”, alongside Armenian and international symphonic works. The event, attended by high-ranking Iranian and Armenian …

The event of September 17, 1978, widely remembered in Iran as Black Friday (Shanbeh-ye Siah) and in some accounts as the “September 17 Massacre”, stands as one of the most decisive and tragic moments in the final year of the Pahlavi monarchy. On that Friday morning, in Tehran’s Jhaleh Square (today Martyrs’ Square on Mojahedin-e-Islam Street), government forces opened fire …

Houshmand Aghili (August 2, 1937 – September 14, 1404) was an Iranian singer, composer, and performer of traditional and classical Persian music. Over the span of seven decades, his voice became associated with refinement, elegance, and nostalgia, bridging generations both inside Iran and in the diaspora. Aghili’s career began in the mid-1950s, and from the very start, his training under …

On Thursday evening, September 3, at Takhti Stadium in Ardabil, a unique football match took place—one that went beyond the usual boundaries of sports competition. The event was not part of a league fixture or a professional tournament; it was a charity football match organized in support of the release of Malian prisoners. The teams consisted of Namavaran Ardabil, a …

In the early days of Shahrivar 1343 (September 1964), the people of Tehran witnessed a sight unlike any before in their city’s history: the passing of the Olympic torch through their streets. The torch, lit on the slopes of Mount Olympia in Greece, symbolized the ideals of peace, unity, and competition that the modern Olympic Games carried across borders and …

Ustad Akbar Golpayegani (1933–2023), widely known by his artistic name Golpa, occupies a towering place in the history of traditional Iranian music. He is remembered as one of the great radif singers, a master of Persian classical vocal performance, and an innovator who bridged the older traditions of tazieh and religious recitation with modern performance styles on radio, stage, and …

Abbas Masoudi (1915–1974) stands as one of the most influential figures in the history of Iranian journalism. Best remembered as the founder of Ettelaat newspaper, which remains one of Iran’s most widely read and longest-running publications, Masoudi was not merely a journalist but also a politician and cultural mediator. His career straddled journalism, printing, and politics, and his life provides …

Mohammad Baqer Bakhtiar stands as a controversial yet significant figure in the contemporary history of Iran. A senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during the Iran–Iraq War, he later became known for his dissenting views against the ruling establishment, his involvement in political protests, and his outspoken criticism of the Islamic Republic’s policies. Bakhtiar’s trajectory—from a military …