For over a quarter-century, Iran has been one of America's chief nemeses. But as Ray Takeyh shows in this accessible and authoritative history of Iran's relations with the world since the revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.

A groundbreaking book that reveals how the underappreciated domestic political rivalries within Iran serve to explain the country's behavior on the world stage. A leading expert explains why we fail to understand Iran and offers a new strategy for redefining this crucial relationship.

Ray Takeyh examines the reasons behind the actions of the major political players in Iran and their view towards a potential nuclear deal with the United States.

Ray Takeyh argues that many critics of the Afghanistan war are wrong to compare it to Vietnam and that such comparisons are "absolutely toxic," in the way that they are limiting progress in Afghanistan.

CFR's Iran expert Ray Takeyh says Washington's Iran policy needs to frame the nuclear development question within the context of a broader range of diplomatic issues, and that Iran's domestic turmoil hinders negotiations on its nuclear program.

Ray Takeyh writes that the Iranian administration is diverting attention to its nuclear program as a way to avoid scrutiny of its attempts to squash democratic dissent within Iran.

Ray Takeyh writes that although the Obama administration's diplomacy has not always yielded the desired results, it is crucial to building international support for American policies.

Ray Takeyh writes "for the Obama administration, which has made engaging with adversarial states a principle of its foreign policy, one of the biggest challenges will not be a belligerent Iran, but a disingenuous one."

Amid Tehran's fresh assertions of its right to pursue uranium enrichment, CFR's Ray Takeyh says the widening split in Iran's political system casts greater doubt on prospects for nuclear talks with the West.

For over a quarter-century, Iran has been one of America's chief nemeses. But as Ray Takeyh shows in this accessible and authoritative history of Iran's relations with the world since the revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.

Ray Takeyh looks at what Iran would hope to achieve through talks with the United States.

Experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short- and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.

Ray Takeyh and Nikolas Gvosdev argue that "Russia’s assault on Georgia may produce no measurable change of its Iran policy."

The events of the past eight years have brought the Middle East to a precipice, write Richard Clarke, Steve Simon, and Ray Takeyh. To deal with this situation, America will need a president of intellectual independence, strategic flexibility and considerable political imagination.

President Bush’s recent denunciation of Barack Obama’s foreign policy was wrong, argue Charles Kupchan and Ray Takeyh. Instead, they defend the Senator’s policies as being “hard-headed realism,” pointing to the historical record as evidence that engaging international rivals is a proven method of resolving conflicts.

Ray Takeyh discusses the Bush administration’s “hopelessly defective” strategies to mitigate the Iranian nuclear program and offers an alternative.

Iran’s overarching aim is to prevent Iraq from again emerging as a military or ideological threat, argues Ray Takeyh.

Ray Takeyh and Nikolas Gvosdev discuss how the United States can work with countries whose behavior it may not condone.

Ray Takeyh states that, “Whatever the composition of the new Parliament, and whoever succeeds the office of the presidency next year, Iran has entered the age when a single mullah dominates all institutions and arbitrates all debates.”

Charles A. Kupchan and Ray Takeyh argue that “despite the tightening of U.N. sanctions, the West’s efforts to contain Iran are crumbling where it matters most: in the Middle East.”

The path is now to recognize this success and resume our relationship with Iran, says Ray Takeyh.

Ray Takeyh, John D. Podesta and Lawrence J. Korb argue that “the strategic necessities of ending the war have never been more compelling.”