The first objective assessment of the high-stakes diplomatic sparring between Washington and Tehran during President Obama's first years in office

Have the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration toward Iran failed? Was the Bush administration's emphasis on military intervention, refusal to negotiate, and pursuit of regime change a better approach? How can the United States best address the ongoing turmoil in Tehran? This book provides a definitive and comprehensive analysis of the Obama administration's early diplomatic outreach to Iran and discusses the best way to move toward more positive relations between the two discordant states.

Trita Parsi, a Middle East foreign policy expert with extensive Capitol Hill and United Nations experience, interviewed 70 high-ranking officials from the U.S., Iran, Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil-including the top American and Iranian negotiators-for this book. Parsi uncovers the previously unknown story of American and Iranian negotiations during Obama's early years as president, the calculations behind the two nations' dealings, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried. For various reasons, Obama's diplomacy ended up being a single roll of the dice. It had to work either immediately-or not at all. Persistence and perseverance are keys to any negotiation. Neither Iran nor the U.S. had them in 2009.

About the Author

Trita Parsi is president of the National Iranian American Council and a former Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In 2010 he received the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order, and he is frequently consulted by Western and Asian governments on foreign policy matters. He lives in McLean, VA.

Reviews
"'Perfectly-timed... A carefully balanced and thoroughly researched account of the tortured US-Iranian relationship in recent years. Parsi is the ideal person to write it." (Julian Borger's Global Security Blog, The Guardian) 'Well-timed... Absorbing... A tale of missed opportunities, obduracy and short-sightedness, all which are pushing the Middle East towards greater instability.' (Economist) 'Trita Parsi has written a most timely book... his conclusions are forthright and challenging.' (Guy Arnold, North South)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780300192360
Author Trita Parsi
Format Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
Weight(grams) 386g