by Giorgio Cafiero and Alex Stout The January 2 execution of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a popular Shi’ite cleric from Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, set off angry protests worldwide. From Michigan to London, and from Bahrain to Kashmir, Shi’ite… Continue Reading
by Mansour Farhang The enmity between Iran and Israel has become a given of political life in the Middle East. Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, condemned Israel as an “enemy of Islam” while his successor, Ayatollah Khamenei,… Continue Reading
by Mansour Farhang The day that Iranian students attacked the U. S. embassy in Tehran— November 4, 1979—marks a durably contentious date in US–Iranian relations. Henry Kissinger once described Iran under the late Shah as “that rarest of things in international… Continue Reading
by Charles Naas The nuclear agreement with Iran, finally reached in Vienna in July, has now been accepted by all the negotiating partners. Pope Francis has endorsed the deal. Even Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have extended grudging support. Indeed, all countries have… 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