ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how the conditions for the agreement came about despite the harsher rhetoric of the Barack Obama first term. Most IR analyses of the Iranian nuclear issue focus on the conflicting geopolitical interests of the US and Iran. The chapter draws on Slavoj Zizek's social psychoanalytical framework to contend that the intersections of identities and affect are central to unraveling the empirical puzzle posed by the nuclear politics between Iran and the US. It argues that dynamics of affect and emotion are key to a more comprehensive understanding of the politics between the US and Iran regarding the latter's nuclear program. The chapter reviews existing arguments regarding US-Iranian relations, and finds that most work has neglected affective factors. It also suggests instead that the affective underpinnings involved in the intersubjective process of identity construction are key to understanding the disjuncture between evidence and belief here, and offers a more comprehensive understanding of the case.
