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    Categories>Politics>Going to Tehran by Flynt Leverett: Iran-US Relations Analysis

    Going to Tehran by Flynt Leverett: Iran-US Relations Analysis

    29 min
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    Apr 17, 2026
    PoliticsHistorySociety

    Explore Flynt Leverett's 'Going to Tehran' for a deep dive into Iran-US relations, Middle East foreign policy, and the history of diplomacy with Iran.

    Going to Tehran by Flynt Leverett: Iran-US Relations Analysis

    Best quote from Going to Tehran by Flynt Leverett: Iran-US Relations Analysis

    “

    The United States is currently sleepwalking toward a disaster because it refuses to come to terms with Iran as it actually is, rather than how we wish it to be. We must decide if we can separate our moral disapproval from our strategic necessity to forestall a catastrophe that could dwarf the Iraq debacle.

    ”

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    Going to Tehran by Flynt Leverett

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    Knowledge sources
    Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms With the Islamic Republic of Iran | Foreign Affairs
    link
    https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2013-02-18/going-tehran-why-united-states-must-come-terms-islamic-republic
    Going To Which Iran? | Flynt Leverett, Hillary Mann Leverett, Roger ...
    link
    https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2013/07/11/going-which-iran/
    Busted Stuff: America's Disastrous Iran Policy
    link
    https://nationalinterest.org/feature/busted-stuff-americas-disastrous-iran-policy-12500
    The Leveretts get Iran all wrong – Foreign Policy
    link
    https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/05/27/the-leveretts-get-iran-all-wrong
    Book details
    link
    https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250043535

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    Key Takeaways

    1

    The Myth of the Mad Mullah and the Cost of Ignorance

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    0:56
    1:47
    2

    Beyond the Caricature of an Irrational State

    2:54
    3:45
    4:33
    5:17
    3

    The 2009 Election and the Battle for the Truth

    6:10
    6:55
    7:47
    8:35
    4

    The Nuclear Program as a Strategic Equalizer

    9:36
    10:19
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    5

    The Illusion of Isolation and the Reality of Rising Influence

    12:52
    13:38
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    6

    The Ghost of 1972 and the Need for a Nixonian Moment

    16:03
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    Deconstructing the "Twilight War" and the Media’s Role

    19:18
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    The High Cost of the "Dual Track" Stalemate

    22:13
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    A Playbook for Rethinking Regional Reality

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    Reflections on a World Beyond Hegemony

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