by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi President Trump has resorted to a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, which has created a zero-sum game bereft of common interests. Nevertheless, chances are that the complex and convoluted political realities of the Middle East… Continue Reading
by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi Exactly 30 years ago, I wrote a dissertation of over 500 pages on state and populism in Iran that ended with a chapter on “permanent populism.” This concept draws together various strands: the pattern of post-revolutionary… Continue Reading
by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi In his recent high-profile visit to Moscow, National Security Adviser John Bolton bluntly told his hosts that the United States would not back down from its announced plan to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty… Continue Reading
by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi On October 3, 2018, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a stinging setback to the Trump administration’s bellicose policy toward Iran. The ICJ ordered the United States to respect humanitarian norms by suspending its sanctions… Continue Reading
by Nader Entessar and Kaveh L. Afrasiabi As the Trump administration ratchets up pressures on Iran—by re-imposing the sanctions removed under the terms of the Iran nuclear accord—Iran has responded diplomatically, politically, and militarily, combining the elements of both soft… Continue Reading