Customer Reviews

Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic

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Like many Americans, my view of Iran has been frozen at the time of the 1979 Iranian Revolution with its searing images of vitriolic anti-Americanism. Given the emerging situation in the Middle East, an updated perspective of Iran is sorely needed. Ray Takeyh does a splended job giving a very readable overview of Iran's development from the '79 revolution to the present. He is also very even-handed in addressing missed opportunities by both the U.S. and Iran in forging less antagonistic relations. Iran is a very complex country which requires others to use a nuanced approach in dealing with its tangled web of mixed tendencies. With Iranian influence currently in ascent, "Hidden Iran" is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand this country in greater depth beyond just being a member of Bush's "axis of evil."

Thank you Ray Takeyh for writing this informative, insightful book, written in laymen's prose, explaining the history and background that has created the Iran we face today. While not reassuring, Iran becomes not this phasmagorical evil state, but rather a nation state acting out of what it believes to be its own self interest. The final chapter dealing with Iran's entrenched hatred of a Jewish state is the most disturbing and I suspect that is why Takeyh saves it for the end. Yet it is a strange world indeed where the U.S. supplied Iraq with weapons during its decade long war with Iran, and never uttered a peep in protest to Saddam's use of nerve gas on Iraqui soldiers, even to this day, and Iran got a secret supply of weapons from -- and this will shock you -- Israel, which Takeyh infers was with U.S. knowledge and acquiescence. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand this complex and independent country.

Takeyh presents a sophisticated picture of how Iran sees the world and how the world sees Iran. There is useful history here, but most interesting here is discussion of Iran's regional ambitions and game plan for getting what it wants.

In this book, the author attempts to recommend a new diplomatic, economic and political approach for the United States' dealings with Iran.

Before making his recommendations, the author does a fabulous job of reviewing the ideology of the Khomeini era - and the baggage that both Americans and Iranians have dealt with since the Iranian Revolution.

He then discusses the conservatives, pragmatists, and reformists that have evolved in Iranian politics since Khomeini's death, telling us of their differing views on how the Iranian government should operate and as well as how Iran should interact with the international community.

Next he discusses how Iran interacts differently with various countries in the Middle East depending on their strategic importance and geographical location.

Additionally, the author discusses the history of Iranian-US relations and how each side has missed opportunities to better relations because of the animosity built during this history.

Finally, the author goes into detail on the three major issues that need to be resolved between the US and Iran - the Iranian nuclear program, Iraq, and Iran's support to terrorists.

In the end, I think the author does a great job of bringing all of this information and analysis together to provide excellent recommendations for future US-Iran relations and negotiations. These recommendations need to be understood and debated by all concerned citizens and politicians.

Overall - a must read for anyone interested in U.S. Middle Eastern policy.

After having read a number of similar books, I found "Hidden Iran" to be one of the better ones on the topic. It is concise and provides insightful analysis of both US and Iranian strategic interests. There is helpful summary of the evolution of US-Iran relations and a discussion of the various Iranian factions. In the end, the author provides his view on a change in course in how the US should deal with Iran. The author is critical of the containment strategy and argues for more engagement with Iran. Although, I wouldn't necessarily agree with this view, the author's analysis is a helpful and worthwhile read to understand US-Iran relations.

You need a sure guide when dealing with a place like Iran and I came to trust Ray Takeh in his opening chapter that he could explain the country to me, and with a very fine turn of phrase. I enjoyed both the analysis - and the prose. His assessment of Khomeini's legacy rang true. The Ayatollah had understood the national psyche much better than the Shah and built his revolution on the country's roots in its religion, Shia Islam and an abiding distrust of foreigners, not surprising after invasions of Greeks, Arabs, Moguls, Russians, and the British. For this reason Takeh rightly stresses that the regime is not going to disappear overnight. Moving on to the post Khomeini domestic era Takeh does a fine job describing Khamaeni and the conservatives, Rafsanjani and the pragmatists, Khatami and the Reformers, and he explains how these three groups are always around, and are always contending for influence. This is very helpful for understanding the present disputes. They have not come out of the blue. They are an ongoing part of the jostling for power within the wider context of the Islamic Republic. I found Takeh best on foreign policy. He does a brilliant job in explaining how despite all the revolutionary rhetoric there is plenty of rational politics at work in their foreign ministry. He shows how there are three circles - the Persian Gulf; the Arab East; and Eurasia, and how each area gets a different policy depending on Iran's national interest. So in Eurasia, where Iran needs trade and diplomatic support, there is very little talk of Islamic revolution as it is absolutely not in Iran's interest to mess with China or threaten to disturb her Muslims. On the other hand in Palestine it's the opposite. Here there is endless revolutionary talk and plenty of meddling, because at the end of the day apart from symbols, Iran has no vital economic interest in the region. They can afford to be zealous. In the Persian Gulf Iran has very definite interests and initially Ayatollah Khomeini wanted the Gulf states to leave the West and join his revolution. Despite his cajoling and more, they did not oblige and this policy only served to isolate Iran. President Rafsanjani was more pragmatic, but still asked the Gulf States to cut ties with the US. Again they did not oblige. Khatami, understanding that it was in Iran's best interest to be on good terms with the Gulf states adopted a `good neighbour' policy and said everyone can deal with the US separately. In other words, political and economic reality eventually bent revolutionary fervour, even in Iran's own backyard. Another point that this book rightly emphasizes when looking at Iran's tortuous relationship with the West, especially the USA and then the whole nuclear issue is the grim fact that when Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons again and again against Iran - nobody in the West raised a finger to stop him. Indeed indirectly Saddam was supported by the West. Given all the present leadership of Iran were scarred in that war, it is not surprising that this moulds their thinking in private, or as Takeh writes - `The impact of the Iran-Iraq war on Tehran's nuclear calculations cannot be underestimated' Takeh reckons that the awful result of those chemical attacks resulting in 34,000 casualties has led the leadership of war veterans to conclude that no treaty will offer them adequate protection. Takeh concludes this section by saying the only way Iran would begin to seriously negotiate regarding the nuclear issue would be in the context of more constructive American diplomacy. Threatening is of no value. Takeh's clear analysis and succinct writing stays on form with his last two chapters on Iraq and Israel. He notes with many others the irony that the US invasion has vastly increased Iran's influence in Iraq, and, as democracy will deliver a Shia government, is really working with the US, supporting that process. With Israel it is completely different. Apart from a slightly softer tone in the Khatami years, Israel has always been the illegal crusader state. Takeh usefully explains that one cause of Tehran's constant hostility is that it gives Iran a voice across the whole Islamic world, and in Iran itself it remains a benchmark for showing loyalty to the revolution Ayatollah Khomeini launched thirty years ago. Wherever Takeh's pen wrote on Iran - Khomeini, Reformers, the USA, Iraq, Israel, he not only educated me, but also, as said, the prose sometimes so neatly summed up the situation, it was worth reading again.

What I really appreciated from this work was the approach the author took. With so many books on Iran it seems that the approach seems to get loaded to one perspective or the other whether it takes a U.S. or Iranian centric approach it seems that the work will lose focus of the relationship as a whole, and how each nation affects the strategic rationale of the other. Mr. Takeyh does a good job keeping the whole picture in perspective and explaining how the failures of each side's policies create cycles of failure that are self perpetuating. This is best illustrated by the U.S.'s failed containment policy which ends up actually enhancing the very conservatives it is designed to hurt. It also shows how the Iranian hardliners have isolated Iran to the point where its most important allies are interstate terror groups to allies strictly of convenience that have no real affinity for Iran beyond or their idealogy beyond what they can do for their strategic needs.

The author has no illusions either about how easy it would be for either country to reverse course as each sides strategy has become ingrained to the point of ideology or to even adjust their course. One of the things that makes it very difficult is the fact that both sides have used each other as political punching bags inflating the trangressions and the danger posed by each. While this may make for good stumping to rile up your base it doesn't do much for pragmatic policy.

The main problem with this book is that it is somewhat dated, and as such he makes some mistakes when projecting the future. One major mistake is his assessment of the Israeli war against Hezbollah in 2006, and his view of it being a major setback for Hezbollah. While it showed a gross miscalculation on Hezbollah's part, in a lot of ways it enhanced their image enormously, while it proved disasterous for Israel and the Lebanese people. While very much a Pyrrhic fight for both sides, it certainly was not a defeat as seems to be suggested in this work. The other miss is the author's mistaken belief that Iran's reformist movement was much more institutionalized than it was. Of course many missed this as well but it still has the affect of dating the work.

This is a very good book that will enlighten readers. It is well written and does a service to the topic. I recommend this book

Good book. A little to broad-brush, I was hoping for a bit more detail on the inner workings of Iranian goverment. Overall, a good one volume introduction to Iran's modern history, domestic politics, and foreign policy. A rather balanced discussion, but Takeyh needs to flesh out his recommendations in the conclusion a bit more.

This book would be good for someone who wants to start from scratch and get a relatively objective, non-judgmental overview of the socio-political status of Iran. The author is not a great writer but he is very good at conveying facts cleanly and efficiently. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a basic understanding of Iran and its relationship with its neighbors and the west.

Ray Takeyh's "Hidden Iran" is a wonderful book that will help everyone understand the many forces shaping Iran's internal cultural and political situation and world facing relations. In particular, I have better understanding of Iran's nuclear intentions as well as its perspectives on the U.S. and Israel, which gives me hope that over time Iran will takes its place as one of the leading nations on a regional and international stage.