Ray Tayekh, is a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and a specialist on matters relating to Iran’s politics and history, has written this book in an attempt to present an insightful analysis of significant aspects of the country and its foreign policy. He paints an intimate portrait of a lively society that is quite different from commonly held beliefs about it. This is a groundbreaking book because the picture it paints of Iran, post-revolution, is instrumental in truly understanding the history and domestic politics in a better way, and the U.S. must do that in order to handle diplomatic and strategic relations with this country.
Tayekh’s book is rife with subtle nuances, and this is what makes this book a very involving read. He writes about the people holding powerful positions in Iran today and educates readers about the details of Iranian politics. He shows that local politics there is not characterized by uniform behaviour and thinking; on the contrary, the reformists and conservatives form two opposite sides of the spectrum, the gap between which is increasing with every day.
One of the recurring themes of this book is how the U.S has “gotten Iran wrong”, but that is just one example of how the U.S. administration has mishandled critical affairs. Tayekh feels that the U.S. policymakers have put in negligible effort to understand the complex political system of the country comprising of unelected theocrats and popularly chosen president and parliament and have failed to understand the dual motivations arising from Shi’i Islam and the anti-Western revolutionary heritage. Because of this lack of understanding and bewilderment on the part of the U.S. administration, they haven’t been able to reduce the enmity between the two countries, even when there was an opportunity to do so. When they have tried to build more amicable relations, and these occasions, according to Tayekh have been rare, misunderstandings have occurred as in the case of the Iran-Contra affair of 1987. Or in other cases, the impact has been different than what was intended, such as when Secretary of State Madeline Albright tried to make amends for American interference in Iranian affairs decades earlier. While she did so, at the same time, she took the clerics, who in the Iranian political hierarchy are the “unelected hands” who have great power over foreign and security policy affairs, to task, and hence, she diluted her own apology by intervening in their domestic affairs. Via this book, the author traces Iran’s history back to events that led it to become the modern theocracy that it is today, as he provides a concise account of history-shaping events such as the America-sponsored coup against Muhammad Mossadeq in 1953, the taking of hostages at the U.S. embassy, which cleared the path for Ayatollah Khomeini’s fierce revolution, and the devastating war against Iraq in the 1980s.
He staunchly criticizes the Bush government for its talk about the “axis of evil” and opines that people must speak up loudly against the proposed “chimaera of regime change.” He urges his readers to denounce the stereotypical image they have about Iran because of the inflammatory commentary they are exposed to every day regarding President Ahmadinejad. People have become accustomed to an image which they must look beyond: they should look away from the notorious President to the powerful Supreme National Security Council and Foreign Ministry, both dynamic and practical institutions trying to distance themselves from the antics of the ruling power. He also rebukes the American mindset, which believes that “the Islamic Republic is a fragile state about to collapse if America exerted determined pressure”.
Tayekh urges the United States to change its strategy and start negotiating with Iran directly on crucial issues such as its nuclear program and the future of Iraq. He suggests that “instead of relying on threats of sanctions, a more effective way to convince Iran to suspend the critical components of its nuclear infrastructure is to find ways to diminish its strategic anxieties”. On the critical issue of Iraq, he states that Iran holds vital importance in this issue because it has the power to exercise a lot of influence over the future of Iraq, hence, it is vital that Washington recognizes the potential of this influence and collaborates with Tehran to “channel that influence in a constructive direction”.
This book serves as a tool to educate people about Iranian politics so that they can understand the reasons for the problems in U.S.-Iran relations. While it does not offer any specific policy proposals in its recommendations, it aims more to make a passionate call against regime change. Tayekh concludes that in order to promote stability and harmony in the Middle East, the U.S. needs to ease the antagonistic and aggressive stance it adopted in the past with Iran, but only time will tell if U.S. politicians will be able to successfully engage in diplomatic relations as they ought to be or continue with the present approach.