During the first two years of Carter's presidency, Iran entered a spiral of violence and unrest that ended with the exile of the Shah and the establishment of an Islamic Republic. The Iranian revolution was first neglected by American diplomats and intelligence officials. When Carter finally became aware of the extent of the disturbances in Iran, he refused to explicitly back the iron fist policy sought by the Shah. The Iranian monarch was unwilling to decisively tackle the protests without Carter's blessing and thus he proceeded with a failed policy that mixed concessions with repression,...