Introduction
The United States and Iran’s relations have been strained for the past several decades. Iran has complicated relationships with the West primarily due to ideological reasons. Heidar Moslehi, the Iranian chief of the intelligence agency, once said that even though there is no physical war with the U.S., they “are engaged in heavy information warfare” (Jones & Newlee, 2019, p. 1).
However, this hostility between the two countries was not always the case because, diplomatic relations between America and Iran began in the early nineteenth century. The Cold War between these two states started in 1979 after the Iranian Islamic revolution (Ostovar, 2019). It was when Islamic leaders denied the influence of the West, minimized interactions with the neighbors, enhanced military weapons programs, and focused on their militant clients (Ostovar, 2019). This paper aims to analyze the relations between Iran and the United States. The worsening or improvement of the situation not only depends on the ruling party in the U.S. but pivots on Iranian preoccupation with building nuclear power and its refusal to accept America’s global influence.
The Relations Between Iran and the United States
The break in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran happened when the latter’s leaders decided to overthrow the old regime and establish the Islamic state. Since 1979, the Iranian strategy has become more about conducting asymmetric war against the West (Eisenstadt, 2021). In fact, the entire Iranian mass media is aimed at creating hostility toward America in the minds of the general population (Eisenstadt, 2021). Its “gray zone” strategy of conducting this cold war with the U.S. implies that Iran acts not according to one selected path but according to circumstances to disarray and confuse the adversaries (Eisenstadt, 2021). Indeed, this approach worked for the past four decades, allowing Iran to preserve its disobedient status and avoid open military conflicts with stronger opponents (Eisenstadt, 2021). However, before Iran acquired this strategy, the country benefited from cooperation with the U.S. in terms of using its rich crude oil resources. The switch from viewing America as an ally to an adversary likely happened due to the federal government’s interference in Iranian internal affairs.
Iran’s bitter and hostile attitude to the Western world stems from the period when the U.S. and British governments tried to alter the country’s political structure. Specifically, in 1953, they “engineered a coup against Iran’s prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, for geopolitical reasons” (Ajili & Rouhi, 2019, p. 140). Furthermore, Iran accuses the United States and other Western countries of supporting Iraq in the 1980-1988 war (Ajili & Rouhi, 2019). Although usual disputes and military conflicts between Iraq and Iran have a long history, this war facilitated Iranians’ antagonism towards the West, which mostly supported their opponents (Chubin & Tripp, 2019). The main factors that do not allow for an improvement in the relations between Iran and the U.S. are historical distrust and unending confrontation in the political arena (Ajili & Rouhi, 2019). Furthermore, multiple sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran made the latter optimize its production and selling of weapons less controllable (Ajili & Rouhi, 2019). Notably, all these Iranian strategies effectively displayed their preparedness for war while avoiding it.
Although Iran claims that America is arrogant and responsible for most geopolitical issues related to the Middle East, its military actions also caused significant damage to the United States. Indeed, the war with Iran cost the U.S. not only millions of dollars but the lives of American soldiers (Bruno & Parmar, 2020). The 1979 revolution overthrew the United States embassy in Tehran, resulting in fourteen months of the hostage crisis. Additionally, Iranian air strikes on the U.S. embassy and marine barracks in Beirut totaled 359 deaths. All these events and bilateral, sometimes reckless, actions caused the ongoing tension in the U.S.-Iran interaction.
Despite the attempts of the Democratic party and Obama’s and Biden’s administrations to restore diplomatic relations with the Iranian government, the conflict remains today. In fact, this cooperation remained since the time of President Bush after the 2003 unjustifiable invasion of Iraq, which brought the U.S. and Iran closer at that time (Bruno & Parmar, 2020). Notably, during Donald Trump’s presidency, the dialogue with Iran was almost completely stopped due to the fact that Iranian leaders provided extensive support to various terrorist and extremist groups (Eisenstadt, 2021). Similarly, Iran enhanced its anti-American and anti-Trump propaganda in the local media (Eisenstadt, 2021). Although the United States publicly apologized for the interference in Iranian politics and Obama’s administration efforts, Iran remains hostile to the West because its government never ceased anti-American propaganda.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the decades-long absence of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran seemed to start improving during Obama’s presidency due to the international and cultural exchanges. However, the Iranian government, which conducts intense anti-American propaganda, remains in the negotiation of the war producing and selling weapons in the region. It appears that the consensus can only be reached when Iran ceases to support terrorist organizations, leaves historical conflicts in the past, and stops cultivating hostility in the minds of its people.
References
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Bruno, W., & Parmar, P. (2020). U.S. war with Iran: A narrowly avoided public health crisis and a continuing risk. American Journal of Public Health, 110(7), 986-987. Web.
Chubin, S., & Tripp, C. (2019). Iran and Iraq at war. Routledge.
Eisenstadt, M. (2021). Iran’s gray zone strategy. PRISM, 9(2), 76–97.
Jones, S. G., & Newlee, D. (2019). The United States’ soft war with Iran. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Web.
Ostovar, A. (2019). The grand strategy of militant clients: Iran’s way of war. Security Studies, 28(1), 159–188. Web.