ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the notion of cuspness not only helps to explain the critical puzzles in Iran's foreign policy, but also permits analysis that displaces Iran from this 'irrational' place and relocates it to a new space where it might become comparable to other Cusp States. It does so by first revisiting critical turning points in Iran's international relations in the twentieth century and in the second part by focusing on the current puzzles in Iran's international relations. Iran is 'still' in a state of suspense, 'not having evolved into a solid alternative' of its former self; the reasons lie not in the 'uniqueness' of Iran but in it being a Cusp State, whereby it shares a great number of features with other Cusp States but navigates them differently in different regional and international settings. In many ways, modern Iran is the creation of twentieth century developments in the region and in the international scene.
