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What to Do About an Imperial Iran
(Foreign Policy) James Stavridis - About 2,500 years ago the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great ruled over 40% of the global population from what is today Libya to Afghanistan. Being an imperial power is woven into the Iranians' national DNA and cultural outlook. And we need to decide how to deal with the reality of Iranian geopolitical outreach, which will be significantly empowered by the lifting of economic sanctions. We need to reassure increasingly nervous allies in the region that we are aware of the broad campaign of Iranian imperial activity. If we do manage to solve the nuclear issue with Iran, the next problem will be an ambitious and relatively well-funded nation with distinct ambitions in not only its region, but globally. The writer is a retired four-star U.S. Navy admiral and NATO supreme allied commander who serves today as the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.