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Books
Trita writes books.
Losing an Enemy - Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy
The definitive book on Obama’s historic nuclear deal with Iran. The controversial 2015 Iran nuclear deal broke a persistent stalemate in negotiations, bringing the US and Iran into agreement on a plan to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. President Trump has been loudly critical of the agreement and has spoken of dismantling or renegotiating it. In order to understand what we might gain or lose, it is essential to understand the real story behind the Iran deal.
Trita Parsi, a Middle East foreign policy expert who advised the Obama White House throughout the talks and had access to decision-makers and diplomats on the U.S. and Iranian sides alike, reveals the behind the scenes dealings that led to the historic deal that could become as important and consequential as Nixon’s rapprochement with China.
A Single Roll of the Dice - Obama's Diplomacy with Iran
Foreign Affairs selected this book as Best Book of 2012 on the Middle East. Have the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration toward Iran failed? This book provides a definitive and comprehensive analysis of the Obama administration's diplomatic outreach to Iran and discusses the best way to move toward more positive relations between the two discordant states.
Trita Parsi, a Middle East foreign policy expert with extensive Capitol Hill and United Nations experience, interviewed 70 high-ranking officials from the U.S., Iran, Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil—including the top American and Iranian negotiators—for this book. Parsi uncovers the previously unknown story of US-Iran negotiations, the calculations behind the two nations' dealings, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried. For various reasons, Obama's diplomacy ended up being a single roll of the dice. It had to work either immediately—or not at all. Persistence and perseverance are keys to any negotiation. Neither Iran nor the U.S. had them in 2009.
"You gotta get this. . . . Really, it is an amazing perspective on all the elements that go into even the smallest of diplomatic deals"--Jon Stewart, The Daily Show."Well-timed...Absorbing...A tale of missed opportunities, obduracy and short-sightedness, all which are pushing the Middle East towards greater instability."--The Economist."The most incisive account available. . . . Eminently readable, sometimes gripping" --Foreign Affairs
Treacherous Alliance - The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the US
Treacherous Alliance deals with Israeli-Iranian relations in the last 50 years and their impact on US policies and America’s standing in the Middle East. It’s the first book in more than 20 years that deals with the highly sensitive issue of Iran and Israel’s dealings. It is based on more than 130 interviews with high-level Israeli, Iranian and American officials.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Iran and Israel are not entangled in an ideological clash, but rather a resolvable strategic conflict. The book explains both how this rivalry erupted and how it can be resolved. And of course, it reveals many of Iran and Israel’s behind-the-scene dealings that have never been revealed before
Israel’s former foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami calls the book “a brilliant interpretation of one of today’s most enigmatic conflicts,” Francis Fukuyama says it is “extremely important,” John Mearsheimer calls it “outstanding” and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski writes that Treacherous Alliance is “a penetrating, provocative, and very timely study.”