Iran Military

Immortal is the only single-volume English-language survey of Iran's military history. CIA analyst Steven R. Ward shows that Iran's soldiers, from the famed "Immortals" of ancient Persia to today's Revolutionary Guard, have demonstrated through the centuries that they should not be underestimated. This history also provides background on the nationalist, tribal, and religious heritages of the country to help listeners better understand Iran and its security outlook.

From Qasem Soleimani to the nuclear deal, a deeply reported exploration of Iran’s decades-long power struggle with the United States—in the tradition of Steve Coll’s Ghost Wars and Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower “A front-row view of the spy games, assassinations, political...

“Realistic and Frightening” • “A Must Read” • “Captivating” Straits of Fire plunges readers into the tense opening act of a new world war. As the next installment in The Eagle & The Dragon Series, this military technothriller captures the razor’s edge of geopolitics where power, deception, and firepower collide. For decades, Pax Americana’s Navy kept the sea lanes open and the global order intact. But Beijing’s ambitions have outgrown its patience. While the world watches Chinese carriers mass in the Taiwan Strait, the real trap is being laid thousands of miles away. ...

In this first work of its kind, the author draws upon two decades of experience to lay bare the calculus, structure, and execution of Iran's foreign intelligence activities, covert actions, and unconventional warfare operations. This book reveals how the regime's shadowy work is driven by a warring mixture of rampant paranoia, unshakable greed, and cold rationality. He meticulously reveals a policy toolkit wielded for self-interest and survival, supported by strategies to eliminate opposition figures, stifle dissent, and promote defense in depth around Iran.

Secrets of the Middle East's Most Critical Conflict You'll get instant access to the most comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the Israel-Iran-Russia conflict in Netanyahu's War: The Unholy Trinity of Conflict - Israel, Iran, and Russia's Deadly Dance is an insightful book that will transform your understanding of the Middle East's complex geopolitics. What You'll Discover: The hidden dynamics driving the conflict and its implications for global stability The strategic calculations and miscalculations of Israel, Iran, and Russia The role of external actors and proxy wars in shaping ...

This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.

On November 4, 1979, "student" supporters of the Ayatollah seized the U.S. Embassy with over sixty hostages. Although the Cold War was in full swing, the Iran hostage crisis was a watershed for the United States. Detachment A had been established in Berlin early in the Cold War to harass and delay any Soviet military advance west. This Special unit trained relentlessly for every aspect of unconventional warfare, and was later assigned a second mission of counterterrorism. Veteran and historian James Stejskal details Det A's unique and integral role in Operation Eagle Claw.

Throughout its 40-year history, the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained implacably opposed to the United States, our presence in the Middle East, and our support to Israel. While attempting to strengthen its deterrence against foreign attack and influence, Tehran has committed itself to becoming the dominant power in the turbulent and strategic Middle East. Its ambitions and identity as a largely Persian Shia power in a region composed of primarily Arab Sunni states often put it at odds with its neighbors.

The definitive history of Iran, from the ancient Persian empires to today Iran is a land of contradictions. It is an Islamic republic, but one in which only 1.4 percent of the population attend Friday prayers. Iran's religious culture encompasses the most censorious and dogmatic Shi'a Muslim...

What would YOU do if YOU were the General in Ukraine? Ukraine will win! Here's How! Ukraine's War: Strategy and Tactics for Victory: Describes in detail the current conflict in Ukraine Predicts the war's future: Ukraine will win! Explains exactly how, in tactical terms, using strategic insights, that UKRAINE WILL WIN!Authoritative analysis by a veteran (USAR, FFL), Fulbrighter, fluent in Russian, author served in Ukraine in 2014. Covers strategic, tactical, & political dimensions of Russia's on-going war-crime in Ukraine and how to end the war victoriously and as quickly as possible. This ...

This revealing memoir from a 34-year veteran of the CIA who worked as a case officer and recruiter of foreign agents before and after 9/11 provides an invaluable perspective on the state of modern spy craft, how the CIA has developed, and how it must continue to evolve. If you've ever wondered...

The first in a new “authoritative, shocking” (Brad Meltzer, #1 New York Times bestselling author) nonfiction series examining the devastating terrorist attacks that changed the course of history from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr and Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott...

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment of the modern era. Its success unleashed a wave of Islamist fervor across the Middle East and signaled a sharp decline in the appeal of Western ideologies in the Islamic world. Michael Axworthy takes listeners through the major periods in Iranian history over the last 30 years: the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of the new one; the Iran-Iraq war; the reconstruction era following the war; the reformist wave led by Mohammed Khatami; and the present day, in which reactionaries have re-established control.

Two enemies. One war. No way home but through each other. In the chaos of the Iran–Iraq War, nineteen-year-old Iranian conscript Reza Hashemi and battle-worn Iraqi sergeant Adnan Karim are cut off from their units after a night of shelling tears the front apart. Stranded in the no-man’s-land between two armies, they face a landscape mined, poisoned, and flooded — where every step could kill, and every choice could betray. Forced to rely on a shared language spoken in different rhythms, and a sheer will to live, the two men navigate trenches, chemical clouds, and the deadly marshes of ...

Oil and Empire: Iran, Nigeria, and the Battle for Oil by Yemi Adesina What happens when two nations discover oil—but take opposite paths in confronting empire? Oil and Empire is a gripping, deeply researched, and morally urgent exploration of how Iran and Nigeria, two of the world’s most oil-rich nations, faced the same global pressures—but responded in radically different ways. One chose resistance and paid the price in sanctions, isolation, and war. The other chose accommodation, and paid in corruption, environmental ruin, and a hollowed-out state. In June 2025, history roared back ...

Until his assassination by US drone strike in January 2020, commander Qassem Soleimani was one of the most powerful men in Iran and the military spearhead for Iranian foreign policy, enacting the wishes of the country's Supreme Leader in the region. A widely popular but also feared maverick operator, he helped to establish the Islamic Republic as a major force in the Middle East, with interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This was a long way from where he began as a youth, living on the margins in a country ruled by a monarch supported by the United States.

A former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian, and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being.

A classic account of courage, integrity, and most of all, belonging In 1977, Natan Sharansky, a leading activist in the democratic dissident movement in the Soviet Union and the movement for free Jewish emigration, was arrested by the KGB. He spent nine years as a political prisoner, convicted...

When the U.S. Air Force decided to create an elite "special tactics" team in the late 1970s to work with special-operations forces, John T. Carney was the man they turned to. Now, for the first time, Colonel Carney lifts the veil of secrecy and reveals what really goes on inside the special-operations forces that are at the forefront of contemporary warfare.

Retired army colonel and New York Times bestselling author Andrew J. Bacevich provides a searing reassessment of U.S. military policy in the Middle East over the past four decades. From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in the...