US-IRAN: Between Confrontation and Reconciliation
https://doi.org/10.31432/1994-2443-2023-18-4-5-20
Abstract
The US policy towards Iran is a part and parcel of its broader policy towards the Middle East and the Arabian (Persian) Gulf in particular. Most of the American targets, whether in the Middle East or Asia, are related to Iran, due to its possession of the military and geostrategic location that qualifies it to be an influential regional power in the future. Iran represents one of the challenges facing the United States, prompted the latter to deal with it according to constants and determinants, regardless the various US administration, which aimed at containing Iran and eliminating the threat that it could impose on its interests in the region.
The paper aims to identify the position that Iran occupies in the strategy of the United States of America and to clarify the determinants of American foreign policy, which highlight the points of convergence and divergence in the US-Iranian relations. A special attention is given to the nuclear file and sanctions that are considered as the factors affecting the domestic political and economic situation, as well as Iran’s foreign policy. The authors adhere to the theories of the balance of power and regional security complexes, the principle that the foreign policy of a state is dictated by the logic of the international system and the distribution of force among states. The structural and systemic approach, as well as the historical methodology are used in order to formulate idea about the past and present of Iranian-American relations.
Keywords
About the Authors
V. I. Belov
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Vladimir Belov - Dr. Sci. (History), Professor, Department of Oriental and African Studies
6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198
E. M. Savicheva
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Elena Savicheva - Cand. Sci. (History), Associate Professor, Department of Oriental and African Studies
6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198
Wissal Werfelli
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Wissal Werfelli (Tunisia) - Post-graduate student, Department of Oriental and African Studies
6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198
References
1. Hussain Nazir (2015). US-Iran Relations: Issues, Challenges and Prospects. Pluto Journals-Policy Perspectives. Vol. 12, No. 2 Pp. 29-47. Retrieved from: URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.13169/polipers.12.2.0029.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A6b3f2cf50d-555d259282307e916544b8.
2. Bonakdarian Mansour. U.S-Iranian Relations, 1911-1951. Iran Chamber Society. Retrieved from: URL: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/58235/MESV3-2.pdf.
3. Zaccara L. (2018). Iran`s foreign policy and evolving role of South-South cooperation. / Vestnik RUDN. International Relations. 2018. Vol. 18, No. 3. P. 550-564. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.22363/2313-0660-2018-18-3-550-564.
4. The Tehran Conference, 1943. Office of the Historian. Department of State — United States of America. Retrieved from: URL: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/tehran-conf.
5. The Tehran Conference, 28 November-1December, 1943. Avalon Project. Retrieved from: URL: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/tehran.asp.
6. Gresh Geoffrey F. and Keskin Turgul (2018). US foreign policy in the Middle East from American missionaries to the Islamic state. Routledge Taylor and Francis group.
7. Condit Kenneth W. (1996). History of the joint chiefs of staff. The joint chiefs of staff and National Policy. Volume II 1947-1949. Office of the Joint History, Office of the Chaiman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Washington, DC. Retrieved from: URL: https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/History/Policy/Policy_V002.pdf.
8. Report to the Congress: Issues Related to U.S. Military Sales and Assistance to Iran (1974/10/21). Department of Defense and Department of State. By the Comptroller General of the United Sate. Retrieved from: Available at URL: https://www.gao.gov/assets/b-133258.pdf.
9. Van Hook James C. and Howard Adam M. / Ed. (2017). Iran, 1951-1954. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954. Department of State. Office of the Historian. Bureau of Public Affairs. United States Government Publishing office. Washington, March 16, 1951.
10. Harrison Ross. The US-Iran showdown: Clashing Strategic Universes Amid a Changing Region. Al Jazeera Center for Studies. 16.04.2020. Retrieved from: URL: https://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/us-iran-showdown-clashing-strategic-universes-amid-changing-region.
11. Yurtaev V.I. (2018) Islamization as a factor in Iran’s foreign policy. Moscow: Aspect Press Publishing House (In Russian). Юртаев В.И. Исламизация как фактор внешней политики Ирана. М.: Аспект Пресс, 2018.
12. Twin Pillars Policy: Engagement of US-Iran Foreign Affairs during the Last Two Decades of Pahlavi Dynasty. Retrieved from: URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285575451_Twin_Pillars_Policy_Engagement_of_US-Iran_Foreign_Affairs_during_the_Last_Two_Decades_of_Pahlavi_Dynasty.
13. Gasiorowski Mark J. (1991). US foreign policy and the Shah: building a client state in Iran. Cornell University Press. 242 p. DOI: 10.2307/1964418.
14. Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights. Treaty Signed at Tehran August 15, 1955: Entered into force June 16, 1957. Retrieved from: URL: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Treatyof-Amity-Economic-Relations-and-Consular-Rights-between-the-United-States-of-America-and-Iran-Aug.-15-1955.pdf.
15. Rowberry Ariana (18.12.2013). Sixty Years of “Atoms for Peace” and Iran’s Nuclear Program. Brookings Institute. Retrieved from: URL: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/upfront/2013/12/18/sixty-years-of-atoms-forpeace-and-irans-nuclear-program/#:~:text=As%20a% 20participant%20in%20the,nuclear%20program%20beginning%20in%201957.&text=The%20U nited%20States%20provided%20research,countries%20wanting%20civilian%20nuclear%20programs.
16. Arabadzhyan A. (1986). Iranian Revolution: Causes and Lessons. Asia and Africa today. № 3. P. 32-36. (in Russian). Арабаджян А. Иранская революция: причины и уроки // Азия и Африка сегодня. 1986. № 3. С. 32-36.
17. Alvandi Roham (2012). Nixion, Kissinger and the Shah: the origins of Iranian Primacy in the Persian Gulf. Diplomatic History. Vol. 36, № 2. Pp. 337-372. Retrieved from: URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2011.01025.x.
18. Pahlavi M.R. (1968). Toward the Great Civilization. Теhran, (in Persian).
19. Belov V.I., Savicheva E.M. (2021). The Middle East from Present to Future: Challenges of a Changing Identity. Moscow, RUDN University. (in Russian).
20. Krasnov K.G., Yurtaev V.I. (2016). Iran’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East and American “System Containment” Strategy. Bulletin of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. Series: International relations. Volume 16. No. 4. P. 616-627 (in Russian).
21. Sadjadpur Karim (2008). Ayatollah Khamenei: Supreme Leader. Pro et Contra. July– August. № 4. P. 11-35 (in Russian).
22. Sajadpur Karim. (2008). Reading Khamenei: The World View of Iran’s Most Powerful Leader. Carnegie Moscow Center. Cernegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved from: URL: carnegieendowment. org/files/Reading_Khamenei_rus.pdf. (In Russian).
23. Ninth Government Program. Government Information Council Secretariat. 23.07–22.08.2005. Leadership of the IRI. Retrieved from: URL: http://www.president.ir/fa/ (in Persian).
24. Iran GDP Annual Growth Rate. Iran GDP Annual Growth Rate — 2022 Data — 2023 Forecast — 1963-2021 Historical — Chart. Retrieved from: URL: https://tradingeconomics.com/iran/gdp-growth-annual.
25. Timofeev Ivan. (27.09.2021). USAIran: Why Is the Deal Stalled? Retrieved from: URL: https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/usa-iran-why-is-the-deal-stalled/.
26. Maloney Suzanne (August 15, 2001). America and Iran: From Containment to Coexistence. Retrieved from: www.brookings. edu/research/america-and-iran-from-containment- to-coexistence/
27. Khamenei A. New Year’s message in connection with the New Year 1393. 1392/12/29. Retrieved from: URL: farsi. khamenei.ir/print-content?id=25952 (In Persian).
28. Joobani Aghaie, Hossein and Mohammadhossein Daheshvar (September 2020). Deciphering Trump‘s Maximum Pressure‘ Policy: The Enduring Challenge of Containing Iran. New Middle Eastern Studies Journal. № 10 (1). P. 22-44. DOI: 10.29311/nmes.v10i1.3615.
29. Future Prospects: US-Iranian Relations during the era of President Trump from 2016-2019. Arab Center for Research and Studies, 22.08.2019. Retrieved from: URL: http://www.acrseg.org/41309.
30. Barghal Nabil (2015). Iranian realism and the nuclear deal are an exploration of movies and paths. Rouya Turkiyayyah Journal. Year 4, Issue 3. Retrieved from: URL: https://rouyaturkiyyah.com/research-articles-and-commentaries/.
Review
For citations:
Belov V.I., Savicheva E.M., Werfelli W. US-IRAN: Between Confrontation and Reconciliation. Information and Innovations. 2023;18(4):5-20. https://doi.org/10.31432/1994-2443-2023-18-4-5-20
Views:
286
Email this article 