The Iran Wars
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“We spent many hours in these consultations with them”: Author interview with senior U.S. official involved in the Israel consultations.
“There’s not an issue we worked on as intensively”: Author interview with Benjamin Rhodes.
“You have rebuffed [sanctions on Bank Markazi]”: Senator Robert Menendez during Foreign Relations Committee hearing on “U.S. Strategic Objectives Towards Iran,” December 1, 2011.
“I am writing to express the administration’s strong opposition”: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s letter to Senate leaders, December 1, 2011.
“That was the statistic I found most surprising”: Author interview with Adam Szubin.
the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Author interviews with Mark Dubowitz and Richard Goldberg.
Senior executives of the global financial institutions: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication’s corporate bylaws.
“no specialized financial messaging shall be provided”: European Central Bank guidelines.
“The sanctions were a catalyzer that exposed”: Author interview with Akbar Komijani.
Industry in the country seized up: Farnaz Fassihi and Jay Solomon, “In Iran’s Factories and Shops, Tighter Sanctions Exact Toll,” Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2013.
“From the owner to the line worker”: Ibid.
CHAPTER 9: THE ARAB SPRING
As the year progressed, the Obama administration: Author interview with senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
General Soleimani and his staff concluded: Ibid.
“Some countries might have concluded”: Author interview with U.S. defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The popular movements in the region “indicate a fundamental change”: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Persian New Year speech, March 27, 2011.
“From the outside, what is the role of the West?”: Author interview with Bashar al-Assad.
“In too many places, in too many ways”: Hillary Clinton speech to the Forum of the Future in Doha, Qatar, January 13, 2011.
In March 2011, the State Department’s top Mideast official: Author interviews with two State Department officials involved in the Bahrain mission.
“We were straightforward with the Americans”: Author interview with Saudi advisor to the royal family.
“We needed to send a clear signal”: Author interview with senior White House official involved in Libya deliberations.
“I was amazed at what I saw that Iran had done”: Author interview with senior Pentagon official involved in Middle East policy.
“There’s a different leader in Syria now”: Hillary Clinton on CBS’s Face the Nation, March 27, 2011.
In late April, Syrian security forces entered Deraa: Nour Malas, “Syria Revolt Fueled by Roof Fires and Tweets,” Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2011.
Protestors were using calls for reform “to fragment Syria”: President Bashar al-Assad speech before Syrian parliament, March 31, 2011.
“We have consistently said that President Assad”: President Barack Obama, written statement, August 18, 2011.
He personally dispatched one of the IRGC’s top commanders: Author interviews with U.S. and Arab intelligence officials.
Iran’s widening military presence inside Syria: Farnaz Fassihi, “Tensions Rise over Iranian Hostages,” Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2012.
“Assad asked for them to be on the ground”: Author interview with General Yahya Bittar, Free Syrian Army intelligence chief, Reyhanli, Turkey.
“We feel safe, we don’t want them to leave”: Farnaz Fassihi, Jay Solomon, and Sam Dagher, “Iranians Dial Up Presence in Syria,” Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2013.
“We could have butchered them all”: Ibid.
“We did the heavy lifting”: Ibid.
“They are told that the war in Syria is akin to Imam Hussein’s epic battle”: Ibid.
“Syria is the front line of resistance”: Ibid.
“They’re trying to reconstitute the Persian Empire”: Author interview with senior Jordanian intelligence official in Amman, Jordan.
“We’ve seen almost nothing in terms of help”: Author interview with General Yahya Bittar, Free Syrian Army intelligence chief.
“We are getting ready and mobilized for the strikes”: Author interview with Abu Mohammad al-Attar, Free Syrian Army commander.
“The Iranian diplomats said it wouldn’t be their decision”: Author interview with Iranian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“The U.S. gave us the impression that they”: Author interview with Saudi prince Turki al-Faisal in Monaco.
“Is there a symbiotic relationship between Iran and ISIS?”: Author interview with senior Pentagon official involved in Middle East policy.
“When the Syrian army is not fighting the Islamic State”: Maria Abi-Habib, “Assad Policies Aided Rise of Islamic State Militant Group,” Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2014.
“We have seen what appear to be credible reports”: Senior State Department official on Syria peace talks in Geneva.
“The network…uses Iran as a transit point”: “Treasury Targets Networks Linked to Iran,” Treasury Department press statement, February 6, 2014.
“U.S. policies in Iraq and Syria were subjected”: Joseph Bahout, Brookings Institution Middle East forum, November 24, 2015.
CHAPTER 10: THE ROAD TO VIENNA
Salem ben Nasser al-Ismaily was hardly a high-profile player: Author interviews with Arab, U.S., and European officials directly involved in Ismaily’s work.
“The policy of peace is good for everyone”: Salem ben Nasser al-Ismaily comments at World Economic Forum, Dead Sea, Jordan, October 24, 2011.
“We always must walk a cautious line”: Author interview with Salem ben Nasser al-Ismaily.
“Iran is a logical export destination”: State Department cable from Muscat, Oman, January 7, 2010.
Beginning in 2010, Ismaily began shuttling between: Author interviews with U.S. and Arab officials involved in the negotiations; Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, A Sliver of Light (New York: First Mariner Books, 2014).
“The Omanis came to us indicating”: Author interview with Benjamin Rhodes.
“I began long conversations to try and lay the groundwork”: Author interview with John Kerry.
“We didn’t approach this with the sense”: Ibid.
“Kerry was actually talking substance with the Omanis”: Author interview with Benjamin Rhodes.
“In an administration where the White House dominates”: Author interview with retired Western diplomat who took part in Track II talks with Iran.
“The main purpose for us was”: Author interview with Benjamin Rhodes.
“We essentially hit the same brick wall”: Author interview with U.S. diplomat involved in the Oman talks.
“While we were talking with the Europeans”: Hassan Rouhani, “Beyond the Challenges Facing Iran and the IAEA Concerning the Nuclear Dossier,” speech, April 19, 2006.
“The only way to interact with Iran”: Hassan Rouhani, inaugural speech, August 4, 2013.
“The election of Rouhani likely opened things up”: Author interview with Wendy Sherman.
“Happy Rosh Hashanah”: Mohammad Javad Zarif Twitter feed, September 4, 2013.
“Thanks. The New Year would be even sweeter”: Christine Pelosi Twitter feed, September 4, 2013.
Iran’s nuclear program “is our moon shot”: Author interview with U.S. diplomat involved in the talks.
“During my tenure in office as president”: Hassan Rouhani, speech before Asia Society in New York, September 26, 2013.
“We didn’t have enough time to prepare”: Author interview with Alireza Miryousefi.
“While there will surely be important obstacles”: President Barack Obama, televised address, September 27, 2013.
“One wants a deal…but not a sucker’s deal�
��: French foreign minister Laurent Fabius, France Inter radio, November 9, 2013.
“He didn’t have any leverage”: Author interview with U.S. official involved in talks with the French.
“We expect the West to have a united stance”: Javad Zarif, Iranian state television, November 21, 2013.
“What was concluded in Geneva last night”: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, statement, November 25, 2013.
CHAPTER 11: KHAMENEI’S SHADOW
U.S. and European diplomats struggled to understand: Author interviews with U.S. and European officials who took part in the talks.
“The IRGC made out like bandits under the sanctions”: Author interview with Wendy Sherman.
“On the issue of enrichment capacity”: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, nationally televised speech, July 8, 2014.
“He seemed to have no idea where it came from”: Author interview with senior U.S. negotiator.
“The personal interplay in all of this was fascinating”: Author interview with John Kerry.
“To squeeze them further was to guarantee”: Ibid.
“To the Iranians, they wanted to hear the magic phrase”: Author interview with Benjamin Rhodes.
“The Iranians could not move without Salehi”: Author interview with Ernest Moniz.
“It has come to our attention while observing”: Tom Cotton, letter to Iran’s leadership, signed by 47 Senate Republicans, March 2, 2015.
Kerry convened a meeting with Zarif where he sought: State Department briefing in Lausanne, March 16, 2015.
“Although we see the letter as a political move”: Javad Zarif, comments to reporters in Lausanne, March 16, 2015.
“We hope this is a year that can bring us prosperity and peace”: Author’s notes from covering Kerry-Zarif meeting, March 20, 2015.
“Making the end of March an absolute deadline”: Gerard Araud Twitter feed, March 20, 2015.
“There was little doubt at that point”: Author interview with European diplomat at Lausanne talks.
“Contrary to the Americans’ insistence, we do not”: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speech commemorating Muslim holy month of Ramadan, June 24, 2015.
“The Obama administration is saying this is only”: Author interview with Flynt Leverett.
“So many wars have been fought over misunderstandings”: Author interview with John Kerry.
“The whole hotel could hear you”: Indira A. R. Lakshmanan, “Iran Deal: The Inside Account,” Politico, September 25, 2015.
“Don’t threaten an Iranian”: Laurence Norman, “New Tensions Emerge in Iran Nuclear Talks,” Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2015.
“So this is a question that should be posed”: Iranian briefing for foreign reporters in Vienna, July 6, 2015.
“This decision on weaponization will haunt the international community”: Author interview with Olli Heinonen.
Kerry and the other world leaders privately gathered: Indira A. R. Lakshmanan, “Iran Deal: The Inside Account,” Politico, September 25, 2015.
“He assured us that he did”: Author interview with U.S. official involved in Vienna talks.
“My hope is that Iran will change some of its behavior”: Author interview with John Kerry.
“The samples…the samples”: Author interview with Yukiya Amano.
CONCLUSION: WAR AND PEACE
Ten days after the Vienna accord: Soleimani’s trip to Moscow described by U.S. and Arab intelligence officials who tracked it.
The Iranian envoy, Ali Akbar Velayati: Velayati’s trip to Moscow reported by Russian and Iranian state media on January 29, 2015.
“The Russians were very alarmed, and felt matters”: Laila Bassam and Tom Perry, “How Iranian General Plotted Out Syrian Assault in Moscow,” Reuters, October 6, 2015.
“Negotiations with the United States open gates”: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, nationally televised speech, October 7, 2015.
“One reason Iran was able to negotiate so successfully”: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell during congressional debate, September 17, 2015.
“This is a bad deal. It’s a very bad deal”: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speech before U.S. Congress, March 3, 2015.
“There’s no way the Saudis won’t match”: Author’s notes from an offrecord dinner with senior Arab diplomats in Washington.
The White House responded by setting up an “anti-war room”: Carol E. Lee and Siobhan Hughes, “Obama Methodically Wooed Democrats to Back Iran Nuclear Deal,” Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2015.
“Are you for solving this diplomatically”: Tape of conference call involving White House deputy national security advisor Benjamin Rhodes and liberal activist groups, January 2014.
“I loved it. I thought it was healthy”: Author interview with Benjamin Rhodes.
Obama told them he wanted to maintain good relations: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, “Fears of Lasting Rift as Obama Battles Pro-Israel Group on Iran,” New York Times, August 7, 2015.
“If the rhetoric in these ads and the accompanying commentary”: President Barack Obama, speech at American University, August 5, 2015.
“Words have consequences, especially when”: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, “Fears of Lasting Rift as Obama Battles Pro-Israel Group on Iran,” New York Times, August 7, 2015.
“By doing so, he will take the Israelis”: Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Breitbart News, July 25, 2015.
“The new agreement doesn’t overthrow the clerical regime”: Joseph Cirincione, “A Huge Deal,” Slate, July 14, 2015.
“The president was proud that we found”: Author interview with State Department negotiator.
“There are serious constraints on their nuclear program”: Author interview with Ernest Moniz.
“Iran is an occupying force in Syria”: Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, press briefing in New York, September 30, 2015.
“This is the most dangerous time in the Middle East”: Author interview with Emile Hokayem.
“Historically, whether in Russia or eastern Europe”: Author interview with Michael McFaul.
“I think the real issue is what’s going to happen”: Author interview with Ernest Moniz.
“Look, 20 years from now, I’m still going”: Jeffrey Goldberg, “President Obama: The Middle East Interview,” Atlantic, May 21, 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JAY SOLOMON is the chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. For nearly two decades, he’s written from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, including stints in Jakarta, Indonesia; Seoul, South Korea; New Delhi, India; and Washington, D.C. The Wall Street Journal has nominated him for three Pulitzer Prizes. Solomon was the first American journalist to uncover the secret meetings between the United States and Iran that took place in Oman. He led coverage of the nuclear negotiations for the Journal from 2011 through 2015.
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