Been getting some fascinating reactions to my Op-Ed in yesterday’s @latimes — most of them positive and constructive. But I should also set a few things straight…. 🧵 1/

latimes.com/opinion/story/… The Iran nuclear deal has actually been dead for a long time. Refusing to admit this, because we think the alternative is so much worse, is weak thinking. It only serves to entrench a “negotiations for the sake of negotiations” mentality… 2/

As US and Iran get ready for another round of #JCPOA talks, let's take a moment to revisit the history of Iran's nuclear program. Buckle up 🧵👇 The story begins in 1957, when Eisenhower provides Iran (then a close US ally) with 6kg of enriched uranium, as part of his 'Atoms for Peace' initiative -- designed to share nuclear technology with the world

Let’s be clear about the purpose of these latest Israeli attacks on Iranian facilities. It is not to “set back Iran’s nuclear program” as will be widely claimed. It is to set back diplomacy. And it’s not a new tactic. A thread.... 1/ From Israel’s perspective, these acts are a brilliant move because they put US in an impossible position. If Biden team condemns them, it will be raked across the coals domestically for criticising Israel — a total non-starter. On the other hand.... 2/

Oh, we’re talking about Iran and Al-Qaeda now? Let’s be clear about a few small details of history (all taken from my forthcoming book, w/page numbers):

(1) Iran tried to warn US about dangers of AQ literally days before 9/11 but US said Iran was exaggerating (p420).... 1/ (2) Iran provided a level of help to US against AQ in Afghanistan after 9/11 that was described as “comprehensively helpful” by US officials (p424)

(3) in 2002, Iran rounded up AQ fighters who had escaped across the border from Afghanistan and offered to hold onto them... 2/

It’s poinsettia season and time to talk about the special place this plant has in the history of US-Iran relations.... (a thread)... 1/ The flower is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, a South Carolina gentleman who, in 1807, earned the distinction of being the first US citizen to ever visit Iran.... 2/

Did you know: The very first newspapers published in America (way back in the 1720s) were obsessed with Iran. But not in the way you might think. A thread.... Week after week, from 1722 to 1724, the lead story in the two main publications in the American colonies -- Philadelphia's American Weekly Mercury and the Boston News-Letter -- concerned Iran (referred to as "Persia")

Did you know there’s an American cemetery in Iran? It’s one of the most forgotten and neglected repositories of US remains in the world. I had the chance to visit in 2009. A thread... @PresbyHistory Just getting here is like a symbolic meditation on the state of US-Iran relations. It’s in a tiny village called Seir, that can only be accessed by a steep, narrow, boulder-strewn trail (not even a road). It takes a car almost an hour to go the couple of miles from Urmia