Iran has abandoned its “neither East nor West” position to align with Russia, providing drones and fighters for the Ukraine war. The Revolutionary Guard controls 50% of Iran’s economy and holds true power in Iran, rendering recent reformist political appointments largely meaningless. Contrary to popular beliefs about Western interference, Milani argues that internal Iranian forces, particularly the clergy, played the decisive role in Iran’s modern transformation and current strategic positioning.
Abbas Milani is a research fellow, co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University. His expertise is US/Iran relations and Iranian cultural, political, and security issues.
Check out more from Abbas Milani:
Read “Guns and Paranoia” from Abbas Milani via The Hoover Digest here: https://www.hoover.org/research/guns-and-paranoia
Watch Abbas Milani’s interview, “Jimmy Carter and the Shah: A look at the late president’s complicated relationship with Iran,” on CNN here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/09/Tv/video/amanpour-iran-jimmy-carter-abbas-milani
Read “Khamenei’s Muscular “Soft Power” in the US from the Hoover Institution’s, The Caravan, here: https://www.hoover.org/research/khameneis-muscular-soft-power-us
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