The Persian Night

This timely and fast-paced book by celebrated Iranian-born journalist Amir Taheri examines the history of the Khomeinist movement in Iran to show how it is genetically programmed for war. It will also show how Khomeinsim can be defeated, enabling Iran to close the chapter of the revolution and return to the global mainstream. This book is mandatory for anyone concerned about the future of Iran, terrorism, and the prospects for middle east peace.

Amir Taheri was the executive editor in chief of the daily Kayhan, Iran's largest newspaper, for more than six years before the mullahs seized power. He has been a syndicated columnist since 1980 and has contributed to many leading newspapers and magazines in the Middle East and Europe. In the United States, his articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Commentary magazine, among other publications. He lives in Paris and London.

Who really rules Iran today? Are the men in official positions merely puppets activated by hidden hands? How are decisions made in a system that appears so chaotic at first glance? Is the current political structure doomed to conflict? These are some of the questions that Amir Taheri addresses in this riveting and timely book. An anatomy of one of the most secretive regimes in the contemporary world, The Persian Night traces the historical, religious, cultural, and political roots of the Khomeinist revolution and analyzes the way it has grown into a pseudo-religious ideology over the past three decades. Taheri dissects a regime that has hijacked a nation of seventy million people and mobilized its resources for global "holy war" against the United States and its allies. From Khomeini's "divine mission" to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's messianic campaign in the name of the "Hidden Imam," Iran is on a trajectory towards war. The Persian Night looks into the actual links between the Islamic Republic and terrorist networks including al-Qaeda and Hezballah; the reality of the Iranian nuclear program; the Islamic Republic's war-making capabilities and strategies; and the origins of the three Khomeinist phobias--women, Jews, and the United States. But as Taheri demonstrates, Khomeinism is not Iran. Today there are two competing Irans: the one manifested in the negative Khomeinist energies that have dragged the nation into its dark night; the other drawing from the long and celebrated history of Persian culture while extending a friendly hand to the West. Successive U.S. administrations, along with most European governments, have failed to understand the reality of the Khomeinist regime and at times have even aided its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear arsenal. Taheri provides a set of imaginative suggestions for more effective ways of dealing with Iran.

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