The ground is literally shifting beneath their feet and the tragedy is it could have been avoided. Unlike the kings of old who they now praise, the leaders of the Islamic Republic have not fought the good fight against Afrasiab: they have invited him in.—Ali Ansari

The collapse of Iran’s regional strategy over the past two years marks a turning point from which recovery appears exceedingly difficult. When combined with the regime’s mounting domestic crises—economic stagnation, social discontent, political repression, and cultural alienation, particularly among the country’s restless youth—it becomes clear that the post-Khamenei era will signify not merely a change in leadership, but a profound rupture with the past 40 years of Iran’s revolutionary history.—Ali Hamada, An-Nahar

Oh rascal children of Gaza, You who constantly disturbed me with your screams under my window, You who filled every morning with rush and chaos, You who broke my vase and stole the lonely flower on my balcony, Come back – And scream as you want, And break all the vases, Steal all the flowers, Come back, Just come back… —Khaled Juma

If you keep waiting, you'll end up recognizing a cemetery.—Vincent Lemire, French Historian on France Recognizing a Palestinian State

When the dust settles, Iranians will undoubtedly question the wisdom behind the regime’s nuclear ambitions and “anti-imperialist” rhetoric — especially the staggering costs they’ve imposed on the country’s people and resources. But right now, the deeper outrage lies in the impunity that Trump’s words granted Israel’s war machine to violate Iran’s sovereignty, victimize civilians and dismantle the country’s infrastructure without constraint. —Asef Bayat

Despite the current military actions and heightened tensions, it is clear that the only sustainable path forward—for Iran, for Israel, the entire region, and the international community—is one grounded in dialogue and diplomacy to ensure peace, stability, and cooperation.—IAEA

There is a deal to be made with such men: not to become friends, but to serve a common interest of defusing the dangers of nuclear arms races and bringing stability to a Middle East that has been scarred by generations of war and terror. Trump is uniquely positioned to override Netanyahu’s objections, cut through the usual Washington battle lines and grab this opportunity.—Fareed Zakaria

The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.—Albert Einstein

Alexander once stood before [Diogenes] and declared, “I am Alexander, the Great King.” “And I,” Diogenes replied, “am Diogenes the Dog.”—Diogenes

The international story of this year may be the collapse of Iran’s alliances. —Robin Wright

What the science in this book ultimately teaches is that there is no meaning. There’s no answer to “Why?” beyond “This happened because of what came just before, which happened because of what came just before that.” There is nothing but an empty, indifferent universe in which, occasionally, atoms come together temporarily to form things we each call Me.—Robert M. Sapolsky

The world is a hellish place and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.—Tom Waits

We may think the Woman, Life, Freedom movement was suppressed before achieving a certain outcome, but a great revolution and transformation occurred in Iranian women and girls, and that was learning to fight against our fears. After the movement, I removed a thick layer of fear from myself. I learned to face my fears. The movement taught me that as a woman, I have a much more important role than what society and the government have imposed on me.—Mahshid, 32, pharmacist, Isfahan

The generation that replaces us will be bewitched by electronic images that collage the works of all past ages without knowing or crediting their sources. Perhaps copyright will also pass away. Solitude surely will. And when these go, so inevitably will the Bill of Rights and the freedom of expression it promises. The meditative calm of one book/one reader will become a heresy, as Aldous Huxley predicted in Brave New World. —Erica Jong

Even if the president-elect is able to deliver on his agenda — which would happen only with the blessing of the supreme leader — he is unlikely to satisfy those Iranians who already see the Islamic Republic as irredeemable. This is especially true of Nasleh Zed, who will not easily forget the faces of those killed and brutalized by the state over the years. To them, as long as an octogenarian cleric and his allies continue to rule over their country, Iran can’t be free.—Holly Dagres

Ebrahim Raisi’s legacy serves as a stark reminder of the crisis of impunity in Iran where those reasonably suspected of crimes under international law not only evade responsibility, but are rewarded with praise and high-ranking positions within the Islamic Republic’s machinery of repression, which without fundamental constitutional, legislative and administrative reforms, is bound to continue.—Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calls on the Iranian Government to eliminate all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence, including through the revision and the repeal of harmful laws, policies and practices, in line with international human rights norms and standards.—OHCHR

No one remembers how the war starts. Not really. Historians unearth parchments after the fact: they came to barter but stole the king's daughter. Someone shot some duke. Some Army massacred some unarmed minority. But what we do remember is demise. Suicides underground when you used to roam in an eagle's nest. The president, bearded, found in a hole. The rebel leader dumped at sea. No shortages of ends. And the mess that ensues. And the winners making the rules all the way to the bank.—Jam Hamidi

Human Rights Watch believes that the cumulative impact of authorities’ decades-long systematic repression is an intentional and severe deprivation of Baha’is’ fundamental rights and amounts to the crime against humanity of persecution.—Human Rights Watch

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.—Søren Kierkegaard