The carefully crafted projects and deep secrets of the Islamic Republic of Iran and their opponents in the Iran Nuclear Weapons Interdiction Project each bring their best and their worst to fruition in this the final book in the Trojan Horse in the Belly of the Beast Trilogy. Both sides are playing an extremely expensive and dangerous game with apocalypse or economic ruin as real consequences. Cyber war is waged with a vengeance, but Afsoon and Gideon hold strategic advantages. The question is whether or not their elaborate plan will succeed in time to prevent the impending holocaust. The answer to that existential reality will depend upon whether or not Afsoon can survive.

A top cybersecurity journalist tells the story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of warfare—one in which a digital attack can have the same destructive capability as a megaton bomb. “Immensely enjoyable . . . Zetter turns a complicated and technical cyber story into an engrossing whodunit.”—The Washington Post The virus now known as Stuxnet was unlike any other piece of malware built before: Rather than simply hijacking targeted computers or stealing information from them, it proved that a piece of code could escape the digital realm and wreak actual, physical destruction—in this case, on an Iranian nuclear facility. In these pages, journalist Kim Zetter tells the whole story behind the world’s first cyberweapon, covering its genesis in the corridors of the White House and its effects in Iran—and telling the spectacular, unlikely tale of the security geeks who managed to unravel a top secret sabotage campaign years in the making. But Countdown to Zero Day also ranges beyond Stuxnet itself, exploring the history of cyberwarfare and its future, showing us what might happen should our infrastructure be targeted by a Stuxnet-style attack, and ultimately, providing a portrait of a world at the edge of a new kind of war.

It's two years after the Zero Day attacks, and cyber-security analyst Jeff Aiken is reaping the rewards for crippling Al-Qaida's assault on the computer infrastructure of the Western world. His company is flourishing, and his relationship with former government agent Daryl Haugen has intensified since she became a part of his team. But the West is under its greatest threat yet. A revolutionary, invisible trojan that alters data without leaving a trace---more sophisticated than any virus seen before---has been identified, roiling international politics. Jeff and Daryl are summoned to root it out and discover its source. As the trojan penetrates Western intelligence, and the terrifying truth about its creator is revealed, Jeff and Daryl find themselves in a desperate race to reverse it as the fate of both East and West hangs in the balance. A thrilling suspense story and a sober warning from one of the world's leading experts on cyber-security, Trojan Horse exposes the already widespread use of international cyber-espionage as a powerful and dangerous weapon, and the lengths to which one man will go to stop it.

This book examines the security arrangements of the Persian Gulf, with a particular focus on Iran's security plans since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution and follows it during Hassan Rouhani presidency. The book provides responses to the questions regarding the security plans of the Islamic Republic of Iran vis a vis the Persian Gulf and why the plans of the Rouhani government in this regard have not been welcomed by the countries of the region. It also analyses the security approach to establish comprehensive and lasting security in this region. Highlighting the importance of Iran's plans during Rouhani's presidency, the author indicates that it provides a codified and clear solution for achieving security in the region from the viewpoint of Iran. These plans have come closer to the logic of realism and has moved away from the idealism of the past plans. Seeking to create a balance against other actors in the region, Iran's plans are not welcomed by the region`s countries, because it seeks to bring other actors such as Russia and China to the Persian Gulf in order to balance against the United States. The book designs a security model for sustainable security in the Persian Gulf and how to achieve a model for regional dialogue. Comparing the transition to realistic logic in relation to other Iranian plans regarding the Persian Gulf, this book offers an innovative analysis of Iran's plans for the security of the Persian Gulf. It will be of interest to researchers in political science, International Relations, political geography, regional studies, security studies and Middle East Studies.

Of the great ancient civilizations, that of Persia is the least known and the most enigmatic. This book explores the formation of the first Persian Empire under the Achaemenid Persians. It brings together a multi-disciplinary view of ancient Iran in the first millennium BC and concentrates on the art, archaeology, history and religion of a geographical area far beyond the present borders of modern Iran in the period beginning just before the formation of the Persian empire in the middle of the 6th century up to its collapse following conquest by Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC. Eminent scholars here give a critical approach to some of the traditional interpretations and discuss topics which help the reader towards a better understanding of the formation of the Persian empire. This is the first volume in the "Idea of Iran" series which will be a four-volume collection encompassing the history of that country.

The first full-length study to examine the significance of the critical but neglected Iranian organization and ministry, Reconstruction Jihad.

The end of the Cold War ushered in a challenging new era for U.S. defense planners. The certainties of planning for conventional war or, in extremis, nuclear war gave way to a new form of unconventional warfare waged by American adversaries like Al Qaeda, Somali warlords, and Iran. Iran's Qods Force examines how one nation state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, has exploited the advantages of unconventional warfare to expand its influence in the Middle East while, at the same time, limiting the impact of U.S. power in the region. At the forefront of its efforts is the Qods Force, the elite clandestine wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Owen Sirrs analyzes how Iran uses unconventional warfare to try to achieve one of its most cherished objectives, hegemony over the Middle East, and demonstrates how U.S. policymakers and warfighters were repeatedly stymied by Iran’s unconventional warfare strategy, which straddled the threshold between conventional and covert warfare. Iran pursues its hegemonic bid even though it lacks many of the accepted attributes of national power like a strong, diversified economy; a modernized, power-projection military; and allies to balance the strength of its many adversaries. Still, as the book explains through specific examples of Iranian covert action in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, Iran is closer to regional leadership in 2021 than at any time in the last three hundred years.

Iran’s role as a regional power is more significant than many in the West may realise. The country lies between Central Asia/the Caucasus and the Gulf region on the one hand, and, on the other, between the Mediterranean/Levant region and South Asia. Many of these areas are of increasing strategic importance. This book explores Iran’s role as a regional power, focusing on relations with South Caucasus countries - Azerbaijan and Armenia. It outlines the historical context, including Persia’s rule of these countries before the nineteenth century, and discusses Iran’s approach to foreign and regional policy and how both internal and international factors shape these policies. The book assesses Iran–Azerbaijan and Iran–Armenia bilateral relations to demonstrate how those policies translate in Iran's regional and bilateral relations. The book concludes by considering how Iran's relations in the region are likely to develop in the future.