Strangulation of Persia: Why Trump’s Iran Policy Will Backfire

by Sina Azodi Over the past four decades, U.S.-Iranian relations have experienced frequent periods of hostility. The Trump administration, however, has escalated tensions, going as far as threatening Iran with war. The administration is under the false impression that by… Continue Reading

Why Iran Prefers the Eastern Bloc Over the West

by Seyed Hossein Mousavian As the military phase of the Syrian conflict reaches its final stages, the leaders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey met in Tehran on September 9 and reiterated in a joint statement that a political solution to… Continue Reading

Why the Supreme Leader Banned Direct Talks with the US

by Reza HaghighatNejad  “There will be no war, nor will we negotiate with the US,” the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei announced to an audience of supporters at his office on Monday, August 13. He also “confessed” to having made a mistake about… Continue Reading

Iran’s Future: Hybrid Nationalism?

by Gareth Smyth In threatening Iran with the “strongest sanctions in history,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was probably not thinking of the Mongol sieges of Iranian cities. Two days later, however, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei evoked Iranians’ sense of their… Continue Reading

Fire and Folly: What Trump’s Violation of the Nuclear Deal Means for Iran

by Shervin Malekzadeh Instagram took an unexpected turn earlier this month when the office of the Iranian Supreme Leader released a picture of Ali Khamenei flipping through Fire and Fury while on a visit to the Tehran International Book Fair,… Continue Reading