Jay Solomon - The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East

From the Wall Street Journal reporter whos been breaking news on the historic and potentially disastrous Iran nuclear deal comes a deeply reported exploration of the countrys decades-long power struggle with the United Statesfor readers of Steve Colls Ghost Wars and Lawrence Wrights The Looming Tower For more than a decade, the United States has been engaged in a war with Iran as momentous as any other in the Middle Easta war all the more significant as it has largely been hidden from public view. Through a combination of economic sanctions, global diplomacy, and intelligence work, successive U.S. administrations have struggled to contain Irans aspirations to become a nuclear power and dominate the regionwhat many view as the most serious threat to peace in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Iran has used regional instability to its advantage to undermine Americas interests. The Iran Wars is an absorbing account of a battle waged on many levelsmilitary, financial, and covert. Jay Solomons book is the product of extensive in-depth reporting and interviews with all the key players in the conflictfrom high-ranking Iranian officials to Secretary of State John Kerry and his negotiating team. With a reporters masterly investigative eye and the narrative dexterity of a great historian, Solomon shows how Irans nuclear development went unnoticed for years by the international community only to become its top security concern. He catalogs the blunders of both the Bush and Obama administrations as they grappled with how to engage Iran, producing a series of both carrots and sticks. And he takes us inside the hotel suites where the 2015 nuclear agreement was negotiated, offering a frank assessment of the uncertain future of the U.S.-Iran relationship. This is a book rife with revelations, from the secret communications between the Obama administration and the Iranian government to dispatches from the front lines of the new field of financial warfare. For readers of Steve Colls Ghost Wars and Lawrence Wrights The Looming Tower, The Iran Wars exposes the hidden history of a conflict most Americans dont even realize is being fought, but whose outcome could have far-reaching geopolitical implications. Praise for The Iran Wars The use of the word wars, plural, in the title of this illuminating book tells the story: U.S.-Iranian relations have been troubled for many years. This deeply researched account of negotiations and their implications makes an important contribution to understanding the short- and long-term consequences of how we manage this difficult relationship.George P. Shultz, former secretary of state An illuminating, deeply reported account from one of the best journalists writing about the Middle East today. Jay Solomons The Iran Wars offers a front-row view of the spy games, assassinations, political intrigue and high-stakes diplomacy that have defined relations with one of Americas most cunning and dangerous foes.Joby Warrick, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS A thorough yet concise survey of Irans buildup of nuclear technology since the 1980s, its troubling exporting of Shiite insurgency in countries around it, and the changing American reaction. Wall Street Journal chief foreign affairs correspondent [Jay] Solomon offers an evenhanded look at the backdoor schemes involving the building of Irans nuclear weapons and the world players involved in and against its machinations.Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) From the Hardcover edition.