Hillary Mann Leverett is senior professorial lecturer at American University’s School of International Service. With Flynt Leverett, she writes the Race for Iran blog. Their new book, Going to Tehran: Why the United States Needs to Come to Terms With the Islamic Republic of Iran, was published by Metropolitan Books in January.
The Islamic Republic has survived for so long because its basic model is, according to numerous surveys, what a majority of Iranians actually want.
The president’s real agenda is to buy more time for sanctions to set the stage for regime change in Iran.