ABSTRACT
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran’s relations with the United States have been very hostile. In particular, after the demise of the Soviet Union, America embarked on a policy of Iran’s containment in the framework of its dual containment strategy. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the United States rebuffed Tehran’s efforts to reach a modus vivendi with Washington. Instead, beginning with the George W. Bush administration, America imposed severe sanctions on Iran. Washington justified these efforts as being necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
During its first term (2009–2013), the Obama administration followed a similar strategy and imposed on Iran what its Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, called “crippling sanctions.” However, the Obama administration also pursued diplomacy with Iran. The latter effort succeeded in producing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which settled the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran agreed to curtail its enrichment program in exchange for lifting of some economic sanctions.
Iran performed its obligations under the JCPOA. But because of the slow pace of removal of sanctions and doubts about the longevity of the agreement Iran gained very little economic benefit from its deal. In May 2018, the administration of Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA and reinstated sanctions on Iran. It also made regime change the ultimate goal of its policy towards Tehran.
The United States’ policy towards Iran since the Iranian Revolution has been influenced by the change in Iranian leadership and the Iranian state’s ideology with its strong anti-American overtones. The hardening of American policy towards Iran since 1989 also reflects the changing dynamics of the international political system pursuant to change in the USSR and its eventual demise in 1991.
However, these changes also reflect the fact that America has never considered Iran as vital to its national interest. Despite the myth of a US–Iran alliance during the rule of the monarchy, America always had derivative interests in Iran and an instrumentalist approach towards it. Therefore, the current state of US–Iran relations should be analyzed within its proper historical context.
