The Pistachio Tree

Dr. Mostafa Al-Labbad

"How do we understand the relationship between Iran and its Arab neighbors? Dr. Mostafa Al-Labbad spent several years before his death preparing this book, attempting to analyze the dynamics of that relationship during a period that witnessed many political changes in the region, with the collapse of some regimes and the rise of others. The author analyzes one hundred years of modern Iranian history, revealing a cyclical rhythm of ascent and decline, expansion and contraction, and pressure that produced the “Iranian smile,” which shows external flexibility but conceals deep strategic planning. This is a foresightful work whose author will not see it displayed in bookstores, but it remains an intellectual legacy for understanding a country that is a key player in shaping the future of the Middle East, a country that has mastered the art of maneuvering, long-term planning, and evading storms to survive throughout the ages.

Dr. Mostafa Al-Labbad – an Egyptian researcher and writer (born in Cairo, 1965-2019). He obtained his PhD in the Political Economy of the Middle East from Humboldt University in Berlin in 1994, and is one of the most prominent Arab researchers on Iranian and Turkish affairs. In Cairo, he published the quarterly journal "Sharq Nama," specializing in the affairs of Iran, Turkey, and Central Asia, which is the only Arabic publication specializing in this region. He worked as a lecturer in international economics and Middle Eastern economies at several universities and institutes in Germany and Egypt. Thanks to his proficiency in Persian and his numerous visits to Iran, he became a specialist in Iranian affairs and participated in hundreds of television and radio interviews to comment on and analyze regional events. He has dozens of research papers presented at scientific conferences and published hundreds of analytical articles in Arab and foreign newspapers, including "As-Safir," "An-Nahar," and "Al-Ahram Weekly." His book "Gardens of Sorrows: Iran and the Rule of the Jurisprudent" (2006) was published."