Iran Reconsidered

The Iranian nuclear deal may have stilled regional tensions, but will it exacerbate political differences with Iran?

Iran’s Islamic Republic has been engaged in a process of reform and reinvention for most of its history, yet each experiment in moderation has gone awry. Iran’s revolutionary theocracy has evolved, but the most problematic aspects of its ideology and institutions have endured since 1979. Can the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement crafted through intense dialogue with Iran’s old adversary, the United States, pave the way for a sustained transformation of the Islamic Republic and its turbulent relationship with the world?

In Iran Reconsidered: The Nuclear Deal and the Quest for a New Moderation, Suzanne Maloney argues that the nature of Iran’s ruling system amplifies the threat posed by its nuclear ambitions as well as its regional policies. The fierce debate that has erupted in Washington over Iran policy hinges on the possibility of an Iran that chooses moderation. The book examines whether Iran may indeed be on the path toward moderation.

Suzanne Maloney is deputy director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and a senior fellow in the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy, where her research focuses on Iran and Persian Gulf energy. She is the editor of Markaz, a blog on politics in and policy toward the Middle East published by the Brookings Institution.