Iran’s Rafsanjani: A legacy of terrorism and repression behind a facade of moderation
Shortly before ...
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Pro-Iran group to urge Germans to vote Israel is illegal
The radical Islamic pro-Iran regime NGO “The Feather” announced that it will urge Germans to reject Israel’s existence on Saturday at an information stand in the the north...
Op-eds
Obama Can’t Let Iran Get Away With Murder
The Obama administration has long said it will hold Iran accountable for acts of terrorism. It now has a chance to prove it: Interpol red notices for five former Iranian officials found culpable in...
Op-eds
The Obama Administration Gambled On Tehran’s Moderation — And Failed
A year ago, the Obama administration made a gamble, striking a nuclear accord with Tehran that it hoped would transform its behavior, leading to a thaw in bilateral relations and a more stable Mi...
Op-eds
Done Deal?
All administrations are short-sighted. Even the brightest, most reflective people can develop acute tunnel vision when they join the paper-pushing, crisis-a-minute senior ranks of the National Se...
Op-eds
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
As has been obvious since his time as the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Javad Zarif is capable of creating a distortion field around him that often r...
Op-eds
Hillary Clinton, Neocon?
With terror in Brussels swamping the news cycle last week, speeches delivered to AIPAC’s Policy Conference by four leading U.S. presidential candidates,&n...
Op-eds
Hassan Rouhani, ‘Moderates’ and Iran’s Post-Election Path
The recent elections in Iran sparked intense debat...
Op-eds
Khamenei’s Latest Moves to Solidify Hardline Gains
The legendary cleric Abbas Vaez Tabasi died this month after thirty-seven years supe...
Op-eds
The search for elusive Iranian moderates
Ruhollah Khomeini was a man of religious faith and revolutionary fervor, committed to waging jihad until, in his words, “the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world.” Bu...
Op-eds
The Death of Iran’s Islamic Left
Co-written by Ray Takeyh Democracy in the Islamic Republic is a peculiar institution: it is designed to reinforce the legitimacy of the theoc...
Op-eds
Hassan Rouhani, ‘Moderates’ and Iran’s Post-Election Path
The recent elections in Iran sparked intense debat...
Op-eds
Iran’s Make-Believe Moderates
Barack Obama and his tireless secretary of state sold the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in part as a means to reinforce Iranian “reformers," "moderates," and "pragmatists."...
Op-eds
Iran’s False Choice: Rebranding Hard-Liners as ‘Moderates’
Iranians went to the ballot box last Friday to cast their votes for the Assembly of Experts and the Majles, Iran’s parliament. Reading ...
Op-eds
Iran’s Assembly of Experts Election: A Foregone Conclusion
Iranians go to the ballot box today to cast votes in two elections: one for the Assembly of Experts and the other for parliament. The former is charged with choosing and supervising the supreme l...
Policy Briefs
Propitiating Iran
Co-authored by Ray Takeyh American presidents are always emotionally and politically drawn to the plight of American hostages overseas. In his sympathy and paternalism, Barack O...
Op-eds
Rouhani’s Pyrrhic Victory
“Today is a historical day,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said as the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 nations – the UN Security Council and Germany – agreed...
Op-eds
Iran’s ISIS Trap
Co-written with Ray Takeyh The choice seems simple. On one side are regally attired mullahs, the type that have protected Persia’s pre-Islamic treasures and even tweet in...
Op-eds
Witch-Hunt for ‘Spies’ in Tehran
A veritable witch-hunt has followed the July 14th nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and US-led global powers in which lobbyists instrumental in the success of President Has...
Op-eds
Netanyahu, Palestinian Terrorism and the Holocaust
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked a long-overdue debate about the role of Haj Amin al-Husseini—the mufti of Jerusalem from 1921 to 1937—in carrying out the Holo...