Provocation is the key theme in the antagonistic relationship between the US and post-revolution Iran. The two nations are the source of a growing tension felt around the globe. "Politics of Confrontation" is a penetrating critique of international relations theory within the historical framework of US-Iranian relations from the early reign of the Shah to the revolution under the Ayatollah Khomeini, with particular emphasis on the final years during the Carter administration. This thorough examination provides the first in-depth look at US documents seized from the American Embassy by revolutionary students during the infamous hostage crisis. Babak Ganji's findings are an essential addition to the discourse of foreign policy theorists as well as being invaluable for historians of the US, Iran and the Cold War.