Iran and the United States: An Insiders View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace [Hardcover]

Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2014

Scores of books have been written by Western experts, mainly American, looking at the root causes of the conflict between Iran and the US. However, none of them have presented an inside look at this complex relationship from within the Iranian culture, society, and most importantly, the Iranian policy-making system. This gap has been the cause of misperceptions, misanalyses, and conflict, followed by the adoption of US policies that have failed to achieve their objectives.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian worked for over 30 years on diplomatic efforts between Iran and the West, serving in numerous official posts, and as a confidante, colleague, and peer to many former and current high ranking Iranian officials, including now-President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Here the former diplomat gives an insider's history of the troubled relationship between Iran and the US. His unique firsthand perspective blends memoir, analysis, and never before seen details of the many near misses in the quest for rapprochement. With so much at stake, the book concludes with a roadmap for peace that both nations so desperately need.

Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, PhD is Associate Research Scholar at the Program on Science and Global Security (SGS) at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. He is a former diplomat who served as General Director of Europe in Iran's Foreign Ministry, Ambassador to Germany, Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran's National Security Council, as Spokesman for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Iran's National Security Council. His research focuses on improving Iran-US relations.

Shahir Shahidsalessis an Iranian-Canadian political analyst and freelance journalist. He has extensively written analytical pieces surrounding Iranian for