Those born in the 1990s and beyond have not lived in a world without the United States and Iran in mutual disagreement. Mounting escalation in the region has accelerated in the last two decades. The US and Iran were once partners in trade and diplomacy, and then everything soured.
As President Donald Trump took military action against Iran’s nuclear program at the end of June, the re-deployment of ground troops in the middle east could be on the horizon. The two nations share a long-winded history and have toted each other as political opposites, or even enemies.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iranian Regime referred to the United States as “Great Satan” in 1979, and the name stuck. The name reflects an anti-American sentiment of the time, especially amidst the country’s revolution.
On Jan. 29, 2002, George W. Bush referred to Iran, North Korea, and Iraq as the “Axis of Evil,” as his administration named Al-Qaeda as their number one target. To Bush, these “rogue states” were the catalyst of global terrorism and mass destruction.
What do these hate-fueled nicknames mean for diplomacy? It’s complex.
The United States in the Middle East
The 1950s were a contentious time between the US and Russia as Americans worked to defeat communist influence at home and abroad. Iran quickly fell victim.
In 1953, the US and UK staged a coup d’etat in Iran to stop the newly elected leader from nationalizing Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, known today as BP. The coup, which was mostly staged by the CIA, unseated elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh over fears of Soviet influence.
After reinstating the deposed leader, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, diplomatic leaders embraced Western influence. Pahlavi served 26 more years until he was overthrown during the Iranian Revolution.
Soon after the revolution, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began an invasion of Iran. In the wake of their severed relationship with the US, the US backed Iraq. After Iraq opted to use chemical weapons on Iran, America’s relationship with Iran moved beyond repair.
For the next 3 decades, the US and Iran were involved in various political and military conflicts. One of the most notable disputes between the two nations is the Iran-Contra affair, carried out by Ronald Reagan.
Reagan named Iran as a state sponsor of terror following attacks in Lebanon that US troops had been following as part of an invasion of Israel. Many US service members were killed in the series of attacks and America blamed Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia movement backed by Iran. Reagan secretly worked with Iran to get Hezbollah captives released, raising questions from Americans about hypocrisy within the administration.
When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he imposed executive orders that barred US companies from dealing with Iran. Congress then passed a law that would penalize investing in foreign entities or selling Iranian weaponry citing nuclear advancement by groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. However, Clinton also lifted the travel warning on Iran.
During Clinton’s presidency, there was uncertainty in the Middle East. The United States government became much more decisive in the region following the attacks on Sept. 9, 2001.
The United States post 9/11
Immediately following the attacks on the Twin Towers in Sept. 2001, the United States and Iran banded together to fight their shared enemy: Iraq and the Taliban. The two worked well together for the next couple months until it all went south in 2002.
During the first State of the Union Address following the attack, Bush claimed Iran as a constituent of the axis of evil, Bush also declared the War on Terror was just beginning.
According to political analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent nonpartisan member organization and think-tank, Bush’s declaration soured any pre-existing potential for budding cooperation between the nations.
The year following raised international alarms on Iran as inspectors found traces of enriched Uranium at one of their facilities. Enriched Uranium is used to produce nuclear weaponry.
The early 2000’s marked a time of political unrest in the region and faced scrutiny throughout the reign of the Bush administration. When Barack Obama took office in 2008 and continued to combat regimes like Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Iran remained in the fallout.
Trump takes on Tehran
On June 21, President Trump authorized attacks on three of Iran’s nuclear sites. Known as Operation Midnight Hammer, the attack included a fleet of seven b-2 bombers that released several Tomahawks missiles across Tehran’s testing sites.
In an address to the nation the following day, Trump said that the mission was a success and that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
The White House released an official transcript the following week of reactions to the attack by US military officials. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence claims that the missiles obliterated “key nuclear capabilities needed to quickly assemble a nuclear weapon.”
Others disagree. According to Scientific American, a science research magazine, much of the damage to these sites is only being seen at surface-level and the extent of the damage is still completely unknown. The affected sites include large underground structures that they do not have access to, and likely won’t.
Nuclear Specialist David Albright told Scientific American that “it’s the job of US and Israeli intelligence to assess the damage.” Currently, their assessments contradict each other.
The death and revival of unilateral trade in Iran
For many years the US imposed unilateral trade measures against Iran that would benefit Americans economically. This strategy, known as unilateral trade, provides a competitive edge in diplomacy by creating a power imbalance.
After the reinstatement of the Shah following the coup, the US and Iran shared close trade relations. Pahlavi worked closely with the US to advance oil trade throughout the West, which proved to be mutually beneficial during the 1973 oil crisis. Economic advancement created by the oil industry allowed for both nations to maintain a strong military and economic alliance.
The strong trade relationship did not last for long after the second fall of the Shah. The two nations severed ties following mounting tensions in 1979. The catalyst of the broken trade relationship is associated with fallout from the Iranian Revolution and a hostage crisis at the US embassy that claimed several lives.
In response to the attack on the Embassy, President Jimmy Carter imposed harsh sanctions on Iran. The government froze Iranian assets in the US and imposed a trade embargo as part of Carter’s executive order 12170.
Since then, the US has adjusted sanction agreements with Iran as different administrations enter and leave in Washington D.C.
Obama focused on easing tensions with Iran during his second term. In 2013 he helped negotiate the Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This began talks to ease nuclear advancement in Iran and lessened sanctions.
The JCPOA provided sanction relief for Iran if they agreed to heighten restrictions on their civilian nuclear programs. Two years after the agreement that took two years to negotiate, Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear accord.
What about Israel?
The United States and Israel have historically shared a very close military relationship, they’re the US’s closest non-NATO ally. The two countries share various bi-lateral trade agreements for weaponry and military capabilities.
When the United Nations created a council to devise a plan for the British Mandate of Palestine following the end of colonial control in the territory, Iran was one of eleven nations in the committee. Three nations voted against the UN’s partition plan: Iran, Yugoslavia, and India.
The three council members who rejected the plan cited fears of escalating violence in the region and created an alternative course of action. They suggested maintaining Palestine as one federated state but dividing it’s parliament into Arab and Jewish Cantons.
Despite Iran being the second largest muslim majority country to recognize Israel as a Nation state in 1948, their mutual support fizzled in the decades following as tensions arab-israeli tensions in the region continue to rise.
The reinstatement of Shah Pahlavi marked a time of economic trade commitment between Israel and Iran, but that was completely severed following the Iranian Revolution and the anti-western movement that swept Iran soon after.
Since then, the two countries have seen periods of cooperation, like the 1968 joint pipeline that was meant to link the two countries with European nations, expanding their industries. However, their cooperation is often short-lived.
The road ahead
Diplomacy is ever-evolving and quickly changing. The New York Times reported last week that the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire deal that both Iran and Israel both agreed to.
As the agreement approaches one week, the future of the ceasefire remains uncertain. Back-and-forth combat between Iran and Israel has paused, but it is still unclear when talks will resume between the respective leaders.
According to an article published by The Hill Newspaper on July 1, “President Trump and Iran’s leaders have sent mixed signals on resuming nuclear talks” and that the existing cease fire is “fragile.”
US talks with Iran are currently on hold as the Trump Administration decides their next course of action in the region.
