Persian dreams : Moscow and Tehran since the fall of the Shah / John W. Parker.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 393-404) and index.

1. From the Shahs to the Ayatollah -- 2. Gorbachev and Khomeini: Perestroika Pen Pals -- 3. Soviet Collapse: Revanche or Accommodation? -- 4. Tajikistan: "Greater Iran" or "Near Abroad"? -- 5. The Bait of "Strategic Partnership" -- 6. Kilo Subs, Bushehr, and Shahab -- 7. The Putin Factor -- 8. Caspian Tempests -- 9. Taliban Threats, Tajik Accords, and U.S.-Iran Talks -- 10. 9/11 and Afghanistan -- 11. No "Strategic Partnership" -- 12. Operation Iraqi Freedom -- 13. The Ahmadinejad Shock Wave -- 14. Beyond Turkmanchai? -- Postscript: The Road to Tehran.

"Moscow's ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran underwent dramatic fluctuations following Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's triumphant return to Tehran in 1979. After a prolonged implosion, they fitfully expanded, shaped not only by the rush of current events but by centuries of ingrained practices and prejudices. As Iran forged ahead with its nuclear program and Shia-based forces flexed their muscles across the Middle East, Russian-Iranian relations again appeared to be on the threshold of an entirely new dynamic." "Drawing on primary and secondary sources as well as firsthand interviews with Gorbachev associate Aleksander Yakovlev, Yeltsin-era foreign minister Andrey Kozyrev, and over twenty other Russian veterans of dealing with Iran, John Parker delineates Moscow's motives and approaches to dealing with the resurgent Tehran. He weaves into the public record the recollections and analyses of Russian politicians, diplomats, and experts who dealt directly with Iran both under the Pahlavi monarchy and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Parker also emphasizes other touchstones of relations between the two countries, including their complex dealings in 1992 immediately after the Soviet Union's collapse and when they backed opposing sides in the civil war in Tajikistan yet nourished mutual interests on other issues, including the Caspian, arms sales, and Bushehr." "The depth of his analysis sheds light on the more recent repercussions of the September 11 terrorist attacks for Afghanistan and Iraq, for the Middle East as a whole, and for Iran's accelerating nuclear program."--BOOK JACKET.