The United States and its allies and partners must not only understand Iran’s regional strategy and influence but also develop a coherent strategy of their own with which to confront them. Considering the relative economic, political, and diplomatic power of the two sides, it is unacceptable for the United States and its allies to allow Iran even such progress as it has made in these realms.

The waves of change are indeed sweeping across the shores of the Middle East and North Africa. However, the Islamist regime in Iran is better geared to suppressing internal dissent than other regional autocracies and, therefore, has better prospects of surviving the crisis--for now at least.

Thirty years after the end of the war with Iraq the leadership of the Islamic Republic faces many of the same challenges that it faced during the war with Iraq, but this time, not even Ayatollah Rafsanjani may be capable of defending the regime against its own mismanagement.

This is the Persian translation of Ali Alfoneh's September 30 article, "The War over the War."

This article, available in Persian, appears in the Winter 2010 edition of Iran Nameh.

We have utterly failed to lay the groundwork for effective support for democratic revolution in Iran.

Review of Kenneth M. Pollack'sThe Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America and David Harris's The Crisis; The President, the Prophet, and the Shah.

Iran's threat to close a vital international waterway if stricter sanctions are imposed on Iranian oil exports is more than just bellicose and provocative. It is also a test of U.S. will and commitment in the Persian Gulf at a time when our role in the region is changing.