The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis (Hardcover)

by Alireza Jafarzadeh (Author) "When I gained political asylum in the United States in the mid-1980s, I viewed the plight of Iran under the control of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini..." (more)
Key Phrases: nuclear command, neutron initiator, covert nuclear weapons program, United States, The Iran Threat, Qods Force (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Best known for bringing details of Iran's nuclear program to international attention, Jafarzadeh offers a harrowing portrait of his native country with this sobering blend of history and contemporary politics. Starting with the 1979 revolution that marked the ascendance of the Ayatollah Khomeini, he argues that Islamist extremism has played a central role in the last 25 years of Iranian politics, including the Iraq-Iran War and the 2005 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which Jafarzadeh believes was orchestrated by the Khamenei regime. All the while, he contends, Iran has maintained a covert nuclear weapons program, threatening to radically destabilize the Middle East and strengthen the reach and scope of the oppressive Iranian regime. Jafarzadeh, a foreign affairs analyst for Fox News who was the U.S. spokesman for the National Coalition of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) until 2003, when it was placed on the State Department's list of international terrorist organizations, has a strong emotional investment in his subject. He dismisses military and diplomatic solutions to the imminent nuclear crisis he foresees, but suggests that international support of Iranian resistance movements could succeed in upsetting the current regime. Highly detailed and compelling, his account is accessible to a general reader but will appeal mainly to students of Middle East politics. (Feb.)
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Review

"Finally, we have a book from the man responsible for alerting the West about Iran's secret nuclear program. The Iran Threat documents how Tehran's support for terrorism and its commitment to a nuclear program are consistent with its ideology. Jafarzadeh provides new information on the political and religious background of current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which should wake up Western policy-makers."--Bruce McColm, President , Institute for Democratic Strategies, former executive director of Freedom House, and former President of the International Republican Institute "While the whole of the West--including its powerful diplomacies and intelligence services--was fast asleep, shamelessly engaging with the fanatic regime in the persecution of the Iranian resistance, the resistance exposed the Iranian regime’s nuclear plans. If you seek the most authoritative view of the leading threat to our civilization's values, you must read Alireza Jafarzadeh’s book."--Paulo Casaca, Chairman, NATO delegation at the European Parliament "As Iran relentlessly drives toward nuclear-armed status, world leaders shift gears and quicken their search for diplomatic exit ramps in a race against time to avoid war. As diplomacy fails, problematic military strike scenarios against Iranian nuclear sites abound. In his excellent book, The Iran Threat, Alireza Jafarzadeh creatively offers another option: empower the Iranian people to seize control over their own country from the illegitimate clerical leadership. By removing the main Iranian opposition groups from terrorist lists of western countries, these organizations can pressure the regime in Tehran to choose between remaining in power and pursuing nuclear weapons. The Iran Threat will be on the 'must read' list of policymakers from Washington to Moscow, as well as from Baghdad to Beijing."--Raymond Tanter, Georgetown University, and President, Iran Policy Committee "Alireza Jafarzadeh knows Iran and the terrorist nature of Islamic fascism. He charts the Iranian regime's political development and efforts to become a nuclear power. He analyzes U.S. policy and failures to date to contain the Iranian threat. Anyone concerned about world peace and security should read this book."--Donna M. Hughes, Professor and Carlson Endowed Chair, University of Rhode Island  "No one outside Iran has a better idea of what the regime in Tehran is up to than Alireza Jafarzadeh, whose Iran Threat offers an important assessment of today's circumstances. He also presents vital ideas for dealing with a rogue government as it attempts to acquire nuclear weaponry."--Daniel Pipes, Director, Middle East Forum "As the support for terrorism and nuclear ambitions of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fan the flames of conflict in the Middle East, The Iran
Threat is the first and best guide to Ahmadinejad's sordid past, his dangerous
present, and our precarious future. Alireza Jafarzadeh offers the most viable
policy option for the United States to contain the Iranian threat as an
alternative to war or appeasement." --Congressman Bob Filner (D-California), Co-Chair, Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives "This is essential reading for those who are concerned about the Iranian nuclear program and are willing to keep an open mind about the Iranian opposition.  Written by the Iranian-American who first revealed to the world--and to international inspectors--the existence of Iran's secret uranium-enrichment and plutonium-production plants, this book provides a credible, compelling account of how the mullahs and the Revolutionary Guards artfully engaged in deceit, deception and concealment to hijack a civilian program and turn it into a military one. This book also places us at the cutting edge of new allegations about an underground network of nuclear installations beyond the reach of both the International Atomic Energy Agency and national intelligence agencies.  It poses the disturbing, bottom-line question of how anything the Iranian regime might yet promise to do in its ongoing negotiations with the West could ever be verified." 
--Paul Leventhal, Founding President, Nuclear Control Institute, Washington, D.C. "Alireza Jafarzadeh's book is a must-read. Jafarzadeh is one of the foremost authorities on modern Iran, and his book is a unique collection of information you can't find anywhere else. From the inner-workings of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime to the Iranian nuclear threat, he gives a unique and insightful perspective to the current situation in Iran."--Rita Cosby, Host of MSNBC Investigates “Iran is the world’s number one threat. Alireza Jafarzadeh brilliantly describes why and what we can do to help the Iranian people take their country back. A must-read if you want to understand how to win the Global War on Terror.”--Lt. General Thomas G. McInerney USAF (Ret.), former Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force "This book could not be more timely. As the United States looks for solutions to the crisis in the Middle East, and Iran in particular, we need authentic voices to shape the debate.  Mr. Jafarzadeh’s participation in exposing the Iranian nuclear program confirms his role and this book’s in informing American policy making."--United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana  "A remarkably well-written and well-researched account of attempts by the Iranian mullahs to join the ranks of the world's nuclear powers. Mr. Jafarzadeh's sources inside Iran have proven time and again to be remarkably well-connected and well-informed. This book should be read by all who are concerned with the spread of nuclear technology beyond the ranks of supposedly responsible "great powers"."--Ambassador James Akins, Former United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia  "Best known for bringing details of Iran's nuclear program to international attention, Jafarzadeh offers a harrowing portrait of his native country with this sobering blend of history and contemporary politics. Starting with the 1979 revolution that marked the ascendance of the Ayatollah Khomeini, he argues that Islamist extremism has played a central role in the last 25 years of Iranian politics, including the Iraq-Iran War and the 2005 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which Jafarzadeh believes was orchestrated by the Khamenei regime. All the while, he contends, Iran has maintained a covert nuclear weapons program, threatening to radically destabilize the Middle East and strengthen the reach and scope of the oppressive Iranian regime. Jafarzadeh, a foreign affairs analyst for Fox News who was the U.S. spokesman for the National Coalition of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) until 2003, when it was placed on the State Department's list of international terrorist organizations, has a strong emotional investment in his subject. He dismisses military and diplomatic solutions to the imminent nuclear crisis he foresees, but suggests that international support of Iranian resistance movements could succeed in upsetting the current regime. Highly detailed and compelling, his account is accessible to a general reader but will appeal mainly to students of Middle East politics."--Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (January 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403976643
• ISBN-13: 978-1403976642
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #629,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and authoritative; a must-read on Iran, February 18, 2007

By	A Professor (USA) - See all my reviews

The Iran Threat is a fairly comprehensive and well-referenced book
on the Iranian mullahs' nuclear program. I became interested in
reading the book partly because of the strong reviews it has
received by distinguished individuals, but also because of the
significance of the topic itself.

The author, Mr. Jafarzadeh, is an authoritative figure on Iran, on
the Iranian mullahs' nuclear plans, and on the Iranian mullahs'
involvement in international terrorism and nowadays the destructive
role they play in destabilizing Iraq.

Mr. Jafarzadeh was indeed the first to reveal the mullahs' nuclear
program in 2002; he was also the original source in exposing many of
the Iranian mullahs terror acts, for example, the bombing of a
Jewish center in Argentine in 1994. Thus he has earned his
reputation as a well-informed and reliable source.

The book is organized in five parts. Each part is divided into
multiple chapters. A brief review of each part follows:

I. A Study in Terror. This part is organized in three chapters in
which a comprehensive background is provided of the Iranian mullahs
internal repression, the so-called" reform movement and its role in
Ahmadinejad's rise, and the true meaning of Ahmadinejad's
"presidency." Detailed, entertaining, and well-documented background
is provided.

II. Iran's Grand Plan. The author elaborates on the Iranian' regime
fundamentalism ideology and its plans to impose a backward "Islamic"
rule on Middle East and elsewhere. This part is well-referenced and
numerous examples, quoting the mullahs' officials, are given. We
learn that we cannot ignore Ahmadinejad's rhetoric like his desire
to wipe out Israel. He and the mullahs are very serious in expressing
their wishes.

III. The Secret Insurgency. This part reviews the mullahs' terror
network in Iraq (which is widely exposed). The author provides
details of the flow of Iranian Revolutionary Guards and infiltrators
into Iraq. Staggering but well-referenced numbers are given.

IV. March to the Bomb. Here the author discusses the mullahs'
history of deception, extensive militarizations, concealment and
lack of cooperation with the international community, and
Ahmadinejad's role in advancing the mullahs race for the bomb.

V. If and When. The author discusses the consequences of a nuclear
Iran and defines a viable Iran policy that will result in change in
Iran but without military confrontations.

The last chapter converges with an important question: how to deal
with the mullahs? The author is inherently against war and military
confrontations (he gives many reasons throughout the book why war is
not an acceptable or viable option). The author also gives many
reasons why engagement/appeasement will fail (look what happened
during the Khatami's "moderate" presidency and all the support it
received from the international: many authors were murdered in
serial killings, more women were stoned to death, the mullahs'
nuclear program was accelerated, and the road for Ahmadinejad's
presidency was paved).

A better solution, according to the author, is to isolate the
mullahs and support the Iranian people and their struggle for
democracy. The author discusses the mechanisms.

This book is an important contribution to the current political
affairs in Iran. It is well-referenced. In my opinion, no
meaningful discussion about Iran can take place without considering
this book warnings and the author's suggestions for a solution to
Tehran's threats.

19 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, February 16, 2007

By	Alex Noorzad (Woodland Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This is the best book on Iran at the strategic level - period. There is nothing else that comes close. If you are interested in peace in the middle east then read this book. Mr Jafarzadeh helps us to understand the threat coming from Tehran. Theme of the book is fascinating. He is proponent of regime change and yet opponent to war.
I highly recommend this book as a fresh look into the Iran's Nuclear program, constantly taking the reader into unexpected areas and populated with facts.Hats off to the author.

20 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Account beyond Iran's Nuclear Threat, February 17, 2007

By	Fariba Molavi "Fariba" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

It is about time that we see books like this on the market.
Every American needs to read this book to understand the real threat of Tehran's regime. The author clearly shows that Iran's threat is not just limited to its nuclear threat. For too long we have been fixated on the nuclear issue and failed to see Ahmadinejad's regime's full picture that includes ideological drive and regional hegemony.
I now understand fully why Jafarzadeh exposed the nuclear threat. This book tells me we are dealing with a much bigger danger than a nuclear bomb and as an Iranian, I consider Jafarzadeh a courageous and patriot who took this issue on and brought it to light.
Jafarzedeh...you've got my vote, thank you and good job.