seven books to read on the Israel-Iran conflict

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Iran’s complex rivalry with the US and Israel has helped shape Middle Eastern politics for decades. As tensions escalate in the region, understanding the roots and consequences of the conflict has never been more urgent. This curated selection of authoritative and thought-provoking reads explores what you need to know to understand how we got here — from Iran’s premodern history and rise to power to its domestic motivations and the global implications of its power struggle with the west.

Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History

by Vali Nasr

The west’s understanding of Iran “is hopelessly inadequate and dangerously outdated”, says Iranian-American academic Nasr. In Iran’s Grand Strategy, the author suggests that western nations must look beyond the prism of the 1979 revolution and argues that Iran’s foreign policy is not driven by ideology but by a pragmatic, long-term strategy rooted in its history and experience. The book explores how events such as the Iran-Iraq war, the US invasion of Iraq and the ongoing threat of American containment have shaped Iran’s tactical outlook, focusing on a fear of external intervention and a desire to secure its position in the region.

Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the US in the Middle East

by Mohsen Milani

Political scientist Milani’s latest book offers a meticulously researched account of Iran’s quest for regional power during the past 70 years. Milani sets out in detail how Iran’s influence has ebbed and flowed, seemingly peaking by the turn of the century, a decade after Hizbollah was formed in response to Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Two events, the author argues, have since shaped Iran’s trajectory: the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, which deposed Saddam Hussein and bolstered Tehran’s influence, and Hamas’s October 7 blockault on Israel in 2023, which shifted regional dynamics in Israel’s favour and left Iran strategically exposed.

Iran: Empire of the Mind

by Michael Axworthy

“Who are the Iranians? Where did they come from?” To answer these questions, the author — a former British diplomat — explores the history of the beleaguered nation, going beyond the “violence and drama” to take the reader on a journey through Iran’s cultural past. The book spans the ancient era of the Prophet Zoroaster, the Persian Empire, and the 1979 Islamic Revolution, concluding during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad — the last time Iran was treated as a pariah state. Through this comprehensive history, Axworthy attempts to address the paradoxical nature of one of the world’s oldest and most influential civilisations and explain why perceptions of the nation have shifted over time.

Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Very British Coup

by Christopher de Bellaigue

To fully understand Iranians’ mistrust of the US and the UK in the modern era, look no further than the Anglo-American inspired coup that overthrew Muhammad Mossadegh, Iran’s elected prime minister, in 1953. Rich in detail, this book outlines the struggle over Iran’s oil resources after Mossadegh’s plan to nationalise the sector made him a national hero but also drew the wrath of the UK, for whom control of Iranian oil was crucial to imperial interests.

Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Rivalry that Unravelled the Middle East

by Kim Ghattas  

Published in 2020, Black Wave examines how the 1979 Islamic revolution reverberated across the Middle East. Ghattas, a veteran Middle East reporter, explores how the birth of the theocratic state triggered a bitter rivalry between Sunni Saudi and Shia Iran, which continues to play out today. It provides a timely reminder that the tensions rippling across the region are not only the result of hostilities between Iran and the west, but also have a dangerous regional dimension.

Woman, Life, Freedom

by Marjane Satrapi

This multi-authored collection of stories offers a vivid visualisation of the protests and subsequent government crackdown that took place across Iran after the death of a young Kurdish-Iranian woman in September 2022, at the hands of Iran’s morality police. Edited by Satrapi, author of the autobiographical graphic novel series Persepolis, the book provides first-hand perspectives on Iranian resistance and government crackdowns. The collection explores the nature of the regime’s tyranny and the extent of its divisive techniques, which create a culture of fear through surveillance, humiliation and intimidation. Shedding a light on the collective yearning for a better Iran, the stories conclude that political change, if not revolution, is inevitable.

The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran

by Roy Mottahedeh

Former Harvard professor Mottahedeh’s tale of Islam and politics in revolutionary Iran, first published in 1985, draws from first-hand accounts of eyewitnesses to provide a comprehensive overview of the traditions, systems and “complexity of culture” that govern Iranian public life, all told through the tale of a cleric’s progression from student to teacher. The book, which Mottahedeh started before and published during Iran’s most tumultuous decade, provides rare insights into the teachings and lives of the Shia religious clblock and the events that led up to the 1979 revolution.

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