What to read On Iran

AS IRAN’S new president, Hassan Rohani, heads to New York to address the UN General Assembly and likely hold talks with Barack Obama, minds are focused on whether or not this could herald a thaw in relations between America and the Islamic Republic. Will Mr Rohani be able to cut a deal with the West over his country’s disputed nuclear programme and ease the sanctions which are crippling the Iranian economy? Is Iran's apparent change of policy tactical or strategic? How does Syria feature? What might be the impact on Iran’s oil and gas industry? For more detail on all this and more, here is a selection of good sources on Iran. 

Al-Monitor’s Iran Pulse offers original analysis from within the country and abroad, helping to shed light on the political machinations of one of the world’s most opaque governments. Pay particular attention to staffer Barbra Slavin as well as contributors Bijan Khajehpour and Mohammad Ali Shabani. The indefatigable Laura Rozen runs Al-Monitor’s Back Channel page, reporting on the whispers from within the corridors of power in the US, including on the soon-to-be-revived nuclear talks. Similarly, LobeLog covers the Middle East at large but allots a good chunk of its coverage to Iran. Its biggest asset for all things Persian is Farideh Farhi.

IR Diplomacy has been around for a few years but has been given a new lease of life since the election of a reformist-backed administration in June. Linked to Sadegh Kharazi, Iran’s former ambassador to France and confidant of Muhammad Khatami, a reformist former president, the site provides an outlet for voices within Iran and offers interviews with its new ministers. 

Gary Sick, a veteran of America’s National Security Council during the 1970s and '80s, edits a blog aggregating interesting analysis as well as his own nuanced commentary. For a more academic bent on Iranian affairs Walter Posch of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and Mehdi Khalaji of The Washington Institute are excellent. 

The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, the Financial Times’ Najmeh Bozorgmehr and Thomas Erdbrink of the New York Times are among the few accredited journalists working in the country. You may also wish to follow Iran’s leaders themselves: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Rohani and Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, have all now embraced Twitter.