• Research
  • Experts
  • Events
Carnegie China logoCarnegie lettermark logo
The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir
Book

The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir

The first detailed Iranian account of the diplomatic struggle between Iran and the international community, begins in 2002 and takes the reader into Tehran’s deliberations as its leaders wrestle with internal and external adversaries.

Link Copied
By Seyed Hossein Mousavian
Published on May 3, 2012

Additional Links

Nook - $10.39Paperback - $19.95Hardback - $49.95Kindle - $15.99iTunes - $15.99

Source: Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2012

The first detailed Iranian account of the diplomatic struggle between Iran and the international community, The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir begins in 2002, when news about Iran’s clandestine uranium enrichment and plutonium production facilities emerged, and takes the reader into Tehran’s deliberations as its leaders wrestle with internal and external adversaries.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian, previously the head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and spokesman for Tehran’s nuclear negotiating team, provides readers with intimate knowledge of Iran’s interactions with the International Atomic Energy Agency and global powers.

Mousavian’s personal story comes alive as he vividly recounts his arrest in 2007 on charges of espionage. This and other dramatic episodes of diplomatic missions tell much about the author and the swirling dynamics of Iranian politics and diplomacy—undercurrents that must be understood now more than ever.

As intense debate continues over the direction of Iran’s nuclear program, Mousavian weighs the likely effects of military strikes, covert action, sanctions, and diplomatic engagement, along with their potential to resolve the nuclear crisis.

Advance Praise

“A fascinating, insightful, and new treatment from the perspective of an intimately involved former Iranian senior official on Iran’s nuclear program and responses to it. For those familiar with the details, there is much new information about the Iran side, its ideas, strategies, disputes, and aims. U.S. experts will have some key questions but will learn much from this extraordinary book.”

—Thomas R. Pickering, former U.S. under secretary of state

"…remarkable new book…"    

—David Ignatius,Washington Post

“…a fascinating insider’s account…”

—Philip Stephens,Financial Times

Seyed Hossein Mousavian
Princeton University
Middle EastIranPolitical ReformSecurityNuclear Policy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

  • Commentary
    China’s Mediation Offer in the Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute Sheds Light on Beijing’s Security Role in Southeast Asia

    The Thai-Cambodian conflict highlights the limits to China's peacemaker ambition and the significance of this role on Southeast Asia’s balance of power.

      Pongphisoot (Paul) Busbarat

  • Trump and Xi on a red background
    Commentary
    Emissary
    China Is Determined to Hold Firm Against Trump’s Pressure

    Beijing believes that Washington is overestimating its own leverage and its ability to handle the trade war’s impacts. 

      • Sheena Chestnut Greitens

      Rick Waters, Sheena Chestnut Greitens

  • Commentary
    A Second Trump Term: Will Southeast Asia Tilt Toward China?

    Tapping our network of China experts in the region, Carnegie China offers this latest “China Through a Southeast Asian Lens” report to offer preliminary assessments of whether the U.S. effort to reshape the global trading order will lead countries in the region to tilt toward Beijing. 

      • +6

      Selina Ho, Khin Khin Kyaw Kyee, Joseph Ching Velasco, …

  • Research
    China Through a Southeast Asian Lens

    Because strategic, economic, and ideological perceptions of China contain multiple, sometimes contradictory facets in Southeast Asia, receptions of and responses to Beijing diverge across and within state lines.

      Evan A. Feigenbaum, Chong Ja Ian, Elina Noor

  • Article
    Northeast Asia Is for Deterrence and Southeast Asia Is (Mostly) for Freeriding: Appreciating Divergent East Asian Approaches to Order, Uncertainty, and Contestation

    Most Southeast Asian states behave as if the actions of their Northeast Asian neighbors and the Philippines will be sufficient to maintain a regional status quo from which they can benefit.

      Chong Ja Ian

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
Carnegie China logo, white
  • Research
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.