Engaging Iran Building Peace in the Persian Gulf Region

Three different perspectives on Iran’s relations with its neighbors and the rest of the international community are presented in this report to the Trilateral Commission. Ray Takeyh’s essay on Iran’s place in the Greater Middle East is an historical overview of Iran’s unique national narrative and Islamic pedigree. Hitoshi Tanaka adopts a comparative approach in his essay to address the challenges posed by the nuclear programs of both Iran and North Korea. The extensive essay by Volker Perthes examines the issues of Iran’s nuclear capacity and regional energy security which are of highest importance for the national interest calculations of the United States and Europe as well as East and South Asia.