Hoover Institution

A historical look at how Islamic regime in Iran established its power through strategic acts of terrorism, later consolidating control through the US embassy hostage crisis. This regime's fundamental ideology, as explained by its leaders, Ayatollah Khomeini and current supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, focuses on "soulcraft" rather than statecraft - seeking to create a new type of Iranian citizen who is more Islamic than Iranian through complete ideological control. Built on fear both domestically and internationally, this system represents a pseudo-totalitarian state that survives through bullying and violence.

Abbas Milani is a research fellow, co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University. His expertise is US/Iran relations and Iranian cultural, political, and security issues.