Amir Taheri

Despite numerous claims and counter claims by Iran, Israel and the United States about the possible outcome of their current war one thing is clear: None of the trio have achieved the goals they set for themselves when they lit its fire. On the Iranian side the late Ali Khamenei had hoped that…

The latest ultimatum issued to Iran by President Donald Trump is due to end as this column appears. What happens next is anybody’s guess. The president might issue another ultimatum, I have lost count of how many he has issued in the past few weeks, or he might intensify his “special military…

With the war between the Israel-US duo and the Islamic Republic in Iran entering its third week two questions are asked in policy circles across the world. The first is: how long will it last? The answer is: how long is a string? Which means: because no one knows, no speculation is warranted. …

“He is injured but alive!” That is the message that Islamic Republic authorities passed on about the newly anointed “Supreme Guide” Mojtaba Khamenei who survived an Israeli air attack that claimed the lives of his parents and his wife at the start of the current war. Speculation about Mojtaba…

On the eve of the current war between the Islamic Republic on one side and the US-Israel tandem on the other we speculated about six scenarios that might take shape. It now seems that the scenario chosen by Tehran - or what is left of its leadership - is Samson Option aimed at a long war…

Then what? This is the question that theoreticians of war from Sun Tzu to Jomini and Liddell-Hart and passing by Clausewitz advise leaders to ask before they order the firing of the first shot in a war. Thus, one may suggest that US President Donald Trump should also ask that question before,…

Last Tuesday, as Iranians organized mourning ceremonies on the 40th day of the deaths of thousands of protesters across the nation, a samizdat was distributed in the city of Qom, the bastion of Iranian clergy. The single page tract included parts of a poem by Sanai, an 11th century Persian poet…

After weeks of tergiversation caused by military threats from the US and Israel and unprecedented nationwide protests, the Iranian Republic’s “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei has returned center-stage to reaffirm his resolve to make absolutely no concessions to domestic opponents or foreign foes. The…

Barring a last-minute surprise, and our subject has always been full of surprises, Iran and the United States are expected to resume their interrupted talks in Muscat today amid contradicting speculations about a possible outcome. Both Tehran and Washington pretend that the long weeks during…

National sovereignty is a phrase that before President Donald Trump brought it into question with headline-grabbing shenanigans on Venezuela, Iran and Greenland among other places was seldom heard outside political science classrooms. Now, however, it is at the center of debates about…