Hossein Derakhshan is a media researcher at London School of Economics. He spent six years in prison in Iran from 2008 over his pioneering blogging and digital activism.
Analysis: Historically, a balancing game has kept competing factions in Iranian politics in check, but the rule of Ayatollah Khamenei and President Raisi has solidified the dominance of the populists over the pragmatists within the IRGC and beyond.
Opinion: Iran's next president was not elected on his charm, vision, or intelligence. Rather, he is the product of political engineering, hardline influence, and voter apathy, writes Hossein Derakhshan.
Comment: For Iranians tired of one-dimensional 'likes', persistent trolls, and absent audiences, Clubhouse has fostered a new kind of more inclusive, real-time political dialogue, writes Hossein Derakhshan.
