by Shireen T. Hunter Recently, President Donald Trump gave Iran’s leaders a telephone number, saying that he is waiting to talk to them. Observers and analysts in both Tehran and Washington dismissed this gesture as meaningless. Given the background… Continue Reading
by Michael Flynn The growing anticipation that President Donald Trump will name Elliott Abrams deputy secretary of state under Rex Tillerson has observers from across the political landscape scratching their heads—and in some cases fuming. An opponent of Trump during the presidential race,… Continue Reading
by Mansour Farhang A semi-irony of the 37-year-old animosity between Iran and the United States is the repeated convergence of short-term interests between hard-liners in the Iranian theocracy and right-wing political forces in America. The latest example is the dispute over… Continue Reading
by Emma Scott Having survived the US Senate, the nuclear deal concluded between Iran and the P5+1 will now be formally adopted, and implementation will follow. Whether you are pro-deal or anti-deal, the truth is that the Joint Comprehensive Plan… Continue Reading
by Greg Grandin The only person Henry Kissinger flattered more than President Richard Nixon was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. In the early 1970s, the Shah, sitting atop an enormous reserve of increasingly expensive oil and a key… Continue Reading