It is a systematic retelling of Iran’s intelligence operations over four decades, concluding with the beginning of the war against Hamas….[T]his is an absorbing book because it is not peppered with clichés, slogans, or inflating denunciations. It is effective because it just presents the cold, hard facts.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence is the first and most complete, even though concise, history of this important agency. An enormously valuable contribution to the intelligence literature.

[T]his is an absorbing book because it is not peppered with clichés, slogans, or inflating denunciations. It is effective because it just presents the cold, hard facts. It is not a polemic. It gives outsiders a peek into a murky, subterranean world, removed from everyday life.

Steven R. Ward worked as an intelligence officer for nearly thirty years with the Central Intelligence Agency, covering Middle Eastern, South Asian, and related national security issues. He served as a deputy national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia on the National Intelligence Council (2005–6) and as a director of intelligence programs for the National Security Council (1998–99). He is a retired US Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and 1980 graduate of the US Military Academy. He also is the author of Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces (Georgetown University Press, 2009 and 2014).

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