One of Britain's best-known Middle East correspondents, Coughlin draws on years of direct contact with Khomeinist movements. He shows how Khomeinism, a radical doctrine based on Shia Islam, has influenced and, in some cases, rejuvenated militant movements within Sunni Islam, too. Coughlin rejects the claim of many self-styled Iran experts who have insisted that militant Shia cannot enter even into tactical alliances with Sunni radicals. According to Coughlin, by 9/11, "The links between al-Qaeda and the IRG went back nearly a decade, and there was evidence that Iran might have had some involvement in the September 11 attacks." Moreover, Imad Mughniyah, Lebanese Hizbollah's terrorist mastermind, "accompanied the 9/11 hijackers on their flights between Iran, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and had meetings with Saudi Hizbollah, which had links with the hijackers, the majority of whom were Saudis".

Coughlin maintains that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard was responsible for training Osama bin-Laden's al-Qaeda fighters in special camps in Sudan, run by the Quds Force, an elite IRG unit set up to "export the revolution".

He writes: "Apart from continuing to build Hizbollah's operational infrastructure in south Lebanon, one of the Quds Force's most notable early successes was to establish an alliance with the Sudanese regime of Hassan al-Turabi. A Sunni Muslim, al-Turabi was keen to develop links to any radical Islamic government, even a Shia regime like Iran. Soon afterwards, Osama bin-Laden moved to Sudan and contacted the Iranians through al-Turabi. Iran and al-Qaeda were prepared to pool their resources, co-operating in terrorist operations."

The 9/11 Commission's Report has suggested contacts between Tehran and al-Qaeda, without offering specifics. Coughlin expands on this, providing a detailed description of the deadly alliance against the US.

Coughlin depicts Khomeinism as a movement that has been at war against the US from day one of the mullahs' rule. He dismisses claims that diplomacy could persuade Tehran to change its policies on any of the key issues that have led it into conflict with its neighbours as well as the West.