Behrooz Ghamari

The U.S. and Iran have been locked in a decades-long standoff, driven by missteps, misunderstandings, and conflicting ambitions. This collection of essays delves into the complex dynamics behind this ongoing conflict, shedding light on why American policies have repeatedly failed to understand the true nature of Iran’s transformations and its role in the Middle East. Drawing on two decades of political analysis, the essays explore the history of U.S. intervention in the region, focusing on the enduring sanctions imposed on Iran and the persistent perception of the Islamic Republic as a major obstacle to American power. Despite the repressive policies of the state, Iran has remained a vibrant society with active intellectual, cultural, and social justice movements. The book examines these internal changes and shifts in Iranian politics, offering crucial insights into why American policies have often been blind to these developments. By challenging the conventional image of Iran as a totalitarian regime, this collection urges readers to appreciate the country’s diverse society and complex political landscape. It calls for a re-evaluation of how the U.S. engages with Iran, advocating for a more informed, nuanced approach to Middle East diplomacy. At a critical moment when U.S. policy is being reshaped, these essays serve as a timely reminder: without acknowledging Iran’s transformations, both nations will continue to face new events—and the same old questions.

Set in the tumultuous aftermath of the Iranian revolution in 1979, Remembering Akbar weaves together the stories of a group of characters who share a crowded death row cell in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. A teeming world is evoked vividly through the relationships, memories, and inner lives of these political prisoners, many of whom were eventually executed. Told through a series of linked memories by the narrator, Akbar, whose striking candor is infused with a mordant sense of humor, the story takes the reader beyond mere political struggles and revelations, to a vibrant alternative history, written, as it were, by losers. The characters whose stories Akbar recounts are brought to life within the mundane rhythms of a bleak institution, in its simple pleasures as well as its frequent horrors, and in the unexpected connections that emerge between the world inside and a past before imprisonment. Rather than exalting the heroic, or choosing to focus merely on despair or redemption, Remembering Akbar reveals eloquently how life unfolds when death is starkly imminent. It is a deeply moving story of great camaraderie, biting humor, and soulful remembrance.