by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj The saga of the Iran nuclear deal has taken another bizarre turn. Eli Lake, a longtime skeptic of the deal, yesterday published a much-discussed Bloomberg View piece in which he surprisingly argues that “to withdraw from the… Continue Reading
by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj With the news that John Bolton will be Trump’s new national security advisor, the death of the Iran Deal is all but assured. Bolton has vocally advocated for war with Iran, which he sees not as an… Continue Reading
by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj The most important sentence in the Persian language is arguably “Baba ab dad.” The sentence means “father gave water.” It is the first sentence taught to Iranian children when they are learning to read and write. Beyond… Continue Reading
by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj In February of 2017, I wrote about Iran’s “forgotten man,” the member of the working class who seemed invisible in the talk of the country’s post-sanctions recovery: What has been lost is an appreciation that the “normalization”… Continue Reading
by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj In response to the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the United States has long pursued a strategy of counterbalancing, extending its security umbrella to cover the kingdom and the GCC states. But as promises of security… Continue Reading