Why the United States Must Accept the Islamic Republic of Iran" with Hillary and Flynt Leverett

October 10, 2013. As Washington hopes for a breakthrough on the Iranian nuclear issue with Iran's new President Rouhani, the Leveretts argued that change really needs to come from Washington. This will require a thorough reassessment of American grand strategy in the Middle East, enabling Washington finally to accept the Islamist governance and foreign policy independence of one of the world's most important civilization states--just as, in the 1970s, Washington finally accepted the People's Republic of China, another civilization state with a revolutionary commitment to strategic independence.