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This article seeks to reflect on some theoretical and practical issues raised at the Conference “Common Foreign and Security Policy of European Union. Middle East and Iran,” organized by Allameh Tabataba’i University, with the support of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union (EU Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency – EACEA). The conference took place in Tehran, Iran, on 21 December 2020. The paper looks into aspects of the conceptual platforms for EastWest cooperation, global and regional integration projects, and is intended as an appeal for intensifying pluralistic joint academic research, culturally and politically unbiased, to theoretically generalize, compare and make available to a wider public the experience of the EU and other institutionalized regional communities, in order to foresee the possible and most viable forms of coordination of strategic (and tactical) policies within the developing regionalization processes. The main proposed methods of academic research are typologization, comparative and contrasting analysis, extrapolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between managerial ability and earnings classification shifting of firms listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The paper consists of a sample of 1,875 firm-year observations after applying systematic elimination sampling method during a period of fifteen years, from 2005 to 2019. This study used the multivariate panel data regression for testing the links between variables. The results of this study provide that there is a positive relationship between managerial ability and earnings classification shifting. The obtained results indicate that there is a negative relationship between managerial ability and real earnings management and no relationship between managerial ability and AEM. In addition, managerial ability mitigates the negative effect of earnings management on future firm performance. Furthermore, managerial ability affects its agency cost positively due to the reduction in earnings management. This paper contributes to developing management literature and financial reporting literature. The study focuses on links managerial ability and earnings classification shifting and agency cost in a developing country like Iran, and the results of the paper can fill distance theory and practice by empirical test. Furthermore, the results of this study indicate in an emerging market, namely, Iran, that has a political business environment among the other countries of the Middle East, managerial ability can release Iranian firms on economic sanctions and financial pressures. This paper is the first study of its type in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper incorporates a study of “re-ghettoization” among the Armenian Christians of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It focuses on how legal marginalization has led to the emergence of an entirely separate existence from the Muslim majority in Tehran among Armenians born after the revolution. By focusing on the spatial and social divisions of the hayashatner (Armenian neighborhoods) and the “social” ghetto of the Ararat Compound, this article addresses the question: what are the social implications for religious discrimination in the Muslim Middle East? This paper is based on three extensive blocks of fieldwork carried out in Iran from 2010 to 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Between 1978 and 1979, the world was watching Iran, as millions of Iranians were on the streets of Tehran and not only, demanding free, democratic government and the end of the Pahlavi dynasty ruling. For the fine connoisseurs of Iranian societal specifics, it is no secret that Iranians have, sometimes, an exaggerated sense of their country's importance in the international system, but now, for once, they seemed to be right. The world was watching. Not just out of curiosity to see if the Pahlavi Shah would give in, but also because the consequences of his regime change would generate important changes in the geopolitical architecture of the Middle East. And then, when a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, seized the United States Embassy in Tehran and took the 52 diplomats and employees' prisoner, the world watched, for 444 days, the evolution of this crisis. So, the Revolution soon became a showdown between the ideas of the newly Islamic Republic and those of the West. And thus, after 1979, the revolution recast the face of the Middle East: as different as they were from their predecessor, the Shah, they took over his desire to transform Iran into a regional hegemon. Only this time they were doing it without the support of the West. In addition, Iran's new religious leadership overturned secularism and imposed a new Constitution based on exclusively religious beliefs. But for bona fide revolutionaries, freedom lasted, metaphorically speaking, three days. This article aims to present a theoretical perspective on Iranian Revolution and to deconstruct its conventional win-lose binary interpretations, that undermine the subtle but important victories of a nation who is not done yet fighting for their freedom and hope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pollution of Iranian agricultural soils with trace elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was assessed and compared with other agricultural soils around the world. Experimental data on trace element content in Iranian agricultural areas in the west and north were collected from the literature: 39 studies covered a total of 46 agricultural sites of 17 provinces in Iran, in order to characterize their patterns of accumulation of trace elements. Two pollution indices, namely, the pollution index (PI) and the integrated pollution index (IPI), were used to evaluate trace element accumulation. The data revealed a remarkable variation in trace element content among soils in different areas. Exploratory data analyses (EDAs) showed that a number of trace elements (Pb, Cu, and Zn) are asymmetrically distributed and scattered. Surveys indicated that 45.5% of the studied samples had elevated PI values for Cd, 13.0% for Cu, and 16.7% for Pb, clearly indicating an anthropogenic contribution of these three elements. The IPI of the agricultural soils also indicated that most areas are classified as having moderate and high pollution. Higher contents of trace elements (except for Mn) were found in some cities of the Isfahan, Hamadan, and Tehran provinces. Excessive application of conventional and organic fertilizers, pesticides, animal manure, and sewage sludge for enhancing crop production is responsible for high trace element content in Iran's agricultural soils. This in turn, through the food chain, is a threat to human health. Analysis of the correlation between trace elements exhibited that Cu, Pb, and Zn (Cd, Pb and Zn) were very closely associated with each other, showing that their prevalent sources are common and the efforts to regulate them linked in common actions. We consider this evaluation as a viable approach to other similar areas in the Middle East and beyond, which could be used by environmental scientists for risk assessment and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to compare sociodemographic characteristics, smoking patterns, beliefs and perceptions, nicotine dependence, and psychological indicators between flavored waterpipe (WP) tobacco (FWT) and non-flavored WP tobacco (non-FWT) smokers in Iran. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 94 WP-serving venues surrounding Tehran and Ardabil metropolitans in Iran. Convenience sampling was applied to select 900 current WP smokers [508 (56%) FWT-only and 392 (44%) non-FWT-only smokers] aged 18 years and older. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the independent characteristics of FWT and non-FWT smokers. Compared to non-FWT smokers, FWT smokers were younger (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87–0.90) and more likely to have ≥ 1 sibling who smoked WP (AOR=1.54, 95% CI: 1.06–2.24), share WP with others (AOR=2.52, 95% CI: 1.68–3.77), report current cigarette smoking (AOR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.23–3.42), and report confidence in quitting at any time (AOR=3.64, 95% CI: 2.45–5.39). FWT smokers were less likely to have seen (AOR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.27–0.60) or read (AOR=0.44, 95% CI: 0.24–0.80) warning messages on WP tobacco packages relative to non-FTW smokers. The most common self-reported reason for smoking WP was entertainment for both groups, followed by stress relief for non-FWT smokers and the escape from loneliness for FWT smokers. FWT-only smokers differ from non-FWT-only smokers in several aspects including being younger, having more positive beliefs and perceptions regarding WP use, and having higher cigarette smoking prevalence. These findings will help in developing more effective and targeted policies and cessation interventions for WP smokers according to flavor type they use, especially in the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 30-years separation of Egypt and Iran in the Middle East. It notes that Cairo in Egypt and Tehran in Iran have traced their histories to the glorious and ancient civilizations which created a strong sense of nationalisms for both countries. It tells that most Egyptians claim regional power with the perception that their country in the leading Arab state. Similarly, the Iranians perceive that their history and political culture have been suppressed by the conspiracy of the foreign powers including Russia, Great Britain, and the U.S.