Three different perspectives on Iran's relations with its neighbors and the rest of the international community are presented in this book. Ray Takeyh's essay on Iran's place in the Greater Middle East is an historical overview of Iran's unique national narrative and Islamic pedigree.
Hitoshi Tanaka adopts a comparative approach in his essay to address the challenges posed by the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. The extensive essay by Volker Perthes examines the issues of Iran's nuclear capacity and regional energy security that are critically important to the United States and Europe as well as East and South Asia.