The Revolution Devours Its Own
Laura Secor surprised me. I had expected to read yet another journalist’s account of an Iran where “reformists,” though bruised and battered, remain hopeful and allied to &ldquo...
Muhammad Khatami
Hardliners Set to Dominate Iran’s February Elections
The Obama administration hopes that the Iran nuclear deal reached last July can “strengthen the hand” of Iran&rs...
Policy Briefs
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
Yet Another American Hostage In Tehran
Siamak Namazi is in Evin Prison in Tehran, and on the face of it that’s very surprising. Why? Because he’s long been a friend and supporter of the regime that has incarcerated him. He...
Op-eds
Our Iranian Interlocutor
Antisemitism has never been an easy subject for America’s foreign-policy establishment. Read through State Department telegrams and Central Intelligence Agency operational and intelligence...
Op-eds
A Raw Deal for Iran’s Dissidents
Iranian dissidents are increasingly worried that — with the nuclear deal signed and business prospects looming — the West will give Iran a pass on human rights. European dignitaries v...
Op-eds
Rohani and the Crisis of Rising Expectations
Iranian President Hassan Rohani’s successful nuclear diplomacy has created a crisis of rising expectations among Iranians, which he cannot possibly satisfy prior to the February 2016 parlia...
Op-eds
Transformational Diplomacy
Many supporters of an Iranian nuclear agreement believe that a deal could help to moderate, even democratize, Iranian society. Barack Obama’s constant allusions to the transformative potent...
Op-eds
The Long Shadow of the Iran-Iraq War
For a conflict that still captivates much of Iran’s ruling elite, the Iran-Iraq War gets very little attention in the United States. Over the years, we’ve...
Op-eds
Book Review: Dancing With the Iranian Devil
To understand the foreign policy goals of European engagement with Iran during its nascent phase, it is worth recalling a joke of the time. In 1984, Germany’s then-foreign mi...
Op-eds
The Man And The Myth
Urbi et Orbi, the city and the world, Tehran and the globe. In his turban and clerical robe, softly speaking of peace, Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, resembles a spiritual guide mor...
Op-eds
Why Can’t We Be Friends?
... Rouhani’s mentor, former president Mohammad Khatami, “was a coward who declined to confront the guards,” says Amir. "Rouhani, on the other hand, is taking them on....
Op-eds
The Islamic Republic of Iran Under President Hassan Rouhani
Violation of Human Rights and State Sponsorship of International Terror Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to share my...
Legislative Testimonies
An Iranian Moderate Exposed
“To my esteemed enemy, Mohammad-Javad Zarif.” Iran’s former ambassador to the United Nations remains very proud of this dedication in his copy of Henry Kissinger’s ...
Op-eds
Negotiating with Ourselves
Analyzing the Islamic Republic isn’t a guessing game—at least it shouldn’t be. Iranian Islamists’ words and deeds are pretty consistent. Memoirs, speeches, and biographies...
Op-eds
Faith-Based Negotiations
O believers, when you encounter the unbelievers marching to battle, turn not your backs to them. Whoso turns his back that day to them, unless withdrawing to fight again...
Op-eds
Seeing Through the Sheep’s Clothing
Co-authored by Saeed Ghasseminejad In his address to the United Nations, Benjamin Netanyahu described Hassan Rouhani as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but you’d ha...
Op-eds
Rouhani’s Rooster Tail
Co-authored Bijan R. Kian and David J. Smith Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s new president, is back in Tehran after an all-smiles visit to the United Nations in New York....
Op-eds
Saudis Stung by Obama Iran Initiative
President Obama’s Friday telephone call with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani—the first at such a level in over three decades—has exacerbated existing problems between the Unite...
Op-eds
The New Rouhani
Assessing contemporary figures on the world stage is tricky business. It takes time to properly reflect on what a man has done, and judgments based on brief acquaintance are often wrong. So it wa...