Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has seemingly waded into the debate surrounding the arrest of a group of Iranians for recreating a tribute to Pharrell Williams’ Happy video. On Wednesday a Twitter account operated by Rouhani’s aides tweeted: "#Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviors caused by joy." The tweet is believed by many to reference the incident, which was branded “a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity” by Tehran police chief Hossein Sajedinia.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that the cyber world should be regarded as an opportunity and not a threat.  The Iranian president said that new communications technologies, such as satellite channels, the internet, and mobile phones, should not be considered a threat to the Islamic beliefs of young people. Rouhani also stated that the era of delivering messages through “one-way tribunes” and “one-way speakers” has come to an end, noting that in the modern world, the more widely messages are circulated, the more effectual they are.

When Iranian militants seized the United States Embassy and took dozens of Americans hostage on an overcast Sunday morning in November 1979, I assumed it was just a brief anti-American sit-in. My main concern, I told my editors at Newsweek, was not how dangerous Tehran would be.

In less than a week, representatives from Iran and the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, the U.S. plus Germany) will convene in Vienna to discuss ways for Iran to give verifiable guarantees of the solely peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

Many were surprised last week when the government of President Hassan Rouhani donated $400,000 to the Dr. Sapir Hospital, but Dr. Morsadegh was not among them.

“We Jews are a part of Iran’s history,” he said. “What is important is that Mr. Rouhani makes big news out of supporting us. He is showing that we, as a religious minority, are part of this country, too.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's battle with hardliners in his own government broke out into the open Wednesday, with the head of the country's state-run television company temporarily preventing him from giving a live interview in Tehran.

2013 has seen governments in the Middle East and North Africa venture further into the world of digital diplomacy. Some have fully embraced it, while some linger tentatively on the sidelines. No matter what kind of approach governments take, digital is undeniably a vital element in the MENA diplomacy toolbox. Certain countries in the region have already demonstrated an impressive command of digital platforms.

Nearly eight months after President Hassan Rouhani's surprise election victory, in which the centrist cleric trounced influential conservative candidates, Iran's hardliners are behaving as if they never lost. Shadowy vigilantes on motorcycles have menaced the family home of a pro-Rouhani filmmaker, and reform-minded journalists are showing up on target lists.