Professor Amin Saikal attended an event  hosted by the Australian mission to the United Nations in New York on 24 March.  The purpose of the event was to launch one of his most recent publications. Present at the launch of the book 'Iran at the Crossroads' (Polity Press, 2016) were (from right to left) HE Mr Gholam Ali Khoshroo, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN, Prof. Amin Saikal, HE Ms Gillian Bird, Australian Ambassador to the UN, and HE Mr Mahmoud Saikal, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the UN.

In this work, Prof. Saikal points out Iran stands at a critical juncture in its history. He claims in this era of Presidents Hassan Rouhani and Barack Obama, the Islamic Republic has a unique opportunity to regain its traditional greatness as a cradle of rich civilisation and culture, with a capacity to be a very influential and stabilising regional actor.

Amin Saikal traces Iran's transition from pro-Western monarchy to Islamic Republic and explores the choices open to Rouhani s moderate reformist government. The Islamic Republic has endured a difficult journey throughout its existence. But since Khomeini assumed power in 1979 it has been characterised by a degree of exceptionalism, which has seen Iran lock horns with the United States and prove itself an effective and shrewdly calculating player on the international stage. Looking to the future, Saikal acknowledges the difficult choices facing Iran today. Failure to achieve reconciliation with the United States in the coming years, he argues, will not only have serious implications for Iran s internal stability and for the future security of the Middle East, but also for America s position within this volatile and unpredictable region.