US-Iran Relations since 1900 - Report Example

Introduction Iran and USA are two characteristically distinct s. They are geographically far away from each other, do not share any common history or heritage, have completely different social, ethnic & religious backgrounds and have had no people to people interaction in early history. Yet, the events of twentieth century saw both the nations going through many shades of political and economic relations. Particularly the last fifty years witnessed both the best and worst between these two nations. Persia’s –The old name of Iran- relations with US started in the second half of nineteenth century. In 1856 Persia appointed its first ambassador in US and US responded back with the same in 1883. However proper diplomatic relations did not develop until the end of World War II. In this paper we will look at the early stages of relationship between these two states and later developments in this regard. We will also have a glance at the impact of Iran-US relations on International Relations concerning other states. Persian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution was the first political issue of substance involving these two states. It started in 1905 when the revolutionists started their effort against Imperial Russia and Great Britain and looked to create a parliament for Iranian people. US largely remained aloof from the matter and did not side with Britain. Interestingly, the Persian Parliament appointed an American Morgan Shuster as Treasurer General of Persia in 1911. His appointment signified that Persia did not consider US to be an ally of Britain as against Persia. Shuster himself criticized Britain and Russia for the atrocities committed by them in Iran while describing how the two big powers decided matters among themselves while ignoring the rights of Persian People (Shuster, Morgan, 1912) Early Cold War Era Until early 40’s US had no strategic interest in Iran. Toward the end of World War II USSR started to increase its military presence in the region in its pursuit to reach the warm waters of Indian Ocean. It expanded its bases in Central Asian states and looked to create nation states in Kurdistan and Iranian Azerbaijan. US, already threatened by increased communist upsurge in Asia, had to counter Russian efforts. This saw a dramatic change in US policies towards Iran and what were once remote relations between two far flung nations soon became extremely close relation between two twentieth century states. US and Raza Shah Pahlavi There were no common grounds for US to be a close ally of Iran. US had to look for a regime which could work in partnership with it. Raza Shah Pahlavi was the ideal candidate to run such a regime. He came into power in 1941 after an Anglo-Soviet Invasion overthrew his father’s rule. In 1953 US got the opportunity to strengthen its relation with the Shah. The Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadeq, ordered to nationalize the British Owned oil industry. British responded with extreme opposition and Shah was pressurized to remove the premier. His removal caused much unrest in the country and Shah had to re-appoint him. The tensions soared even higher and Raza Shah had to run away from the country after a coup against him. US took advantage of the developments and staged a CIA sponsored Coup against Mohammad Mossadeq. He was arrested and Shah was re-instated. This started a decades’ long relationship between the regime of Shah and US. Throughout the era of Raza Shah, there were reports of human rights violations in Iran and US support to him led to the belief that Shah’s authoritative rule was fully backed by US. The Iranian Revolution - 1979 The so called Islamic Revolution of Iran proved to be a U-Turn in Iran-US relationship. The revolution was originally a social upsurge against the totalitarian rule of Raza Shah in which both left and right wing of society participated but later turned into a hard-core Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. Raza Shah Pahlavi had to run away from the country and an extremely Anti-American set-up came into existence. The sole reason that a domestic revolution showed such Anti-American sentiments was the belief that Shah was an American puppet and that his atrocities were only possible due to US backing. (Katouzian, Homa, 1990) The Iran Hostage Crisis - 1979 Soon after the exile, Raza Shah requested US to allow him entry for his cancer treatment which was granted by the US government. It enhanced the image of US as the power behind Raza Shah’s atrocities. Out of sheer anger, a group of revolutionists occupied the American Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979. More than 50 American diplomats were made hostage and the occupation lasted for 444 days. The hostage crisis had deep rooted impact on the relationship of both countries. There were failed efforts on part of US to get the hostages released. Any soft-corners left in both the administrations were buried deep in the mounting tensions. Hostages were finally released through the Algiers Accord on January 20, 1981. Iran–Iraq War (1980-88) In 1980, US backed Saddam Hussain to attack Iran and thus started the decade long war between the two neighbors. US provided financial, military and strategic support to Iraq. Towards the end of war US Navy itself started operation Praying Mantis in Gulf of Persia in order to provide cover to the Iraqis. This was the biggest navy operation by US Navy since World War II. In the same year an Iranian Commercial Aero plane was shot by US, killing 290 passengers. It again prompted much debate in international political arena but US refused to apologies. The war ended in 1988 but had a huge impact on the economy of both states and Iran was forced into a situation of self defense. Clinton and Khatami Bill Clinton was the American President between 1992 and 2000 whereas Mohammad Khatami was the President of Iran from 1997 to 2005. This was an interesting era of US-Iran relations. On the one hand US imposed many sanctions on Iran including trade sanctions as well as investment sanctions in mid 90’s. The Iran-Libya Sanctions Act blocked any investment in energy sector even by private companies. On the other hand, the same era saw a positive attitude on the part of Iran. Mohammad Khatami proposed the idea of dialogue among civilizations and on his proposal the United Nations (UN) declared year 2001 as the year of dialogue among civilizations. (Ahmad, Forst, 2005)There were some efforts on part of both countries to move toward better diplomatic relations with exchange tours from few sports bodies and lifting of ban on export of certain items but such thaw was temporal. Bush and Axis of Evil Speech George Bush Jr. came into power in 2000. His famous 2002 speech in which he declared Iran, Iraq and North-Korea as Axis of Evil, shaped the course of relationship among these nations throughout his era. He blamed these countries to have developed weapons of mass destruction and the term Axis of Evil was used as a justification for War on Terror. Throughout Bush Administration there has been political rhetoric on part of both countries. After the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, there were fears that Iran might be the next target but hostilities between the two states did not cross tongue-to-tongue battles. Ahmadinejad and US The second term of George Bush saw Ahmadinejad in office of Iranian President. Ahmadinejad proved to be far more aggressive in his stance against the US as compared to Khatami. He has actively criticized US for its double standards. He has extreme view points when it comes to US relations with Israel, its dealings with the Muslim world and its stance on nuclear energy for smaller countries. His speeches have caused much unrest in US political circles and direct dialogues have been minimal throughout his term in office. US and Iranian Nuclear Program Iran’s nuclear program had been a topic of much debate in the past decade. Iran’s stance is that its nuclear technology is for peaceful purposes and it has the right to seek energy creation opportunities. On the contrary, US led alliance believes that Iran is enriching uranium for nuclear arsenal. Iran has repeatedly refused International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inspections and even when such inspections have been allowed, there scope has been curtailed by partial allowance. Iran’s harsh stance on Israel and the threat to use force against the state of Israel also fuels US’s concerns from Iranian nuclear capabilities. In recent times Ahmadinejad has often spoken about wiping out Israel from the map of the world. In recent times, there have been proposals from Russia and European Union to reach some sort of compromise. An opportunity for Iran to get its uranium enriched in Russia is amongst the most recent offers made to Iran. Iran, US, Hezbollah and Israel As just discussed, Iran has a very harsh stance towards the state of Israel. Iran provides military and financial aid to the terrorist organization of Hezbollah. Israel has often alleged that Iran is behind most of terror activities of Hezbollah. There have been reports that Israel has officially asked the Bush administration to bomb Iran’s military bases but US has refused so far. On the other hand, Iran accused US to have created the state of Israel in Middle East as a terrorist state. It accuses Israel to have destroyed the peace of region and west –both US and Europe- to have forced it upon the Muslims of Middle East. Grand Bargain Proposal – A Lost Opportunity There have been no comfort zone among the two states over the past three decades but there was one opportunity which could have shaped the history differently had it been availed. It is reported that in 2003, during the invasion of Iraq, Iran informally contacted US through a Swiss ambassador offering to have negotiations over differences. The fax offered to resolve hot issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and its support to Hezbollah. Iran is also reported to have offered support against Al-Qaida. Unfortunately, the offer was rejected by the top brass of Bush administration who thought it to be unrealistic. (Parsi, Trita, 2007) Conclusion - The Way Forward Last year has brought many fresh developments in international relations, particularly when it comes to US. The victory of Barrack Obama has been seen as a positive step towards a better world. He has shown signs of releasing tensions around the globe and has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the positive outlook he has provided to the world. He has already announced his intention to move out of both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also shown desire to start dialogues with everyone including Iran. In a speech on March 19, 2009 he spoke directly to the people of Iran, saying, “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right - but it comes with real responsibilities.” (Barrack Obama, 2009) On the other hand Iran also congratulated Obama upon his success in elections. This was the first time after the Iranian Revolution that an American President was congratulated by Iran on his success. Twenty first century can not afford to be the century of wars and disputes. Iran and US both have much to offer to the world and they can only cherish a better future for the world if they look to address their differences in the near future so that the world at large may live in long lasting peace. Work Cited Shuster, Morgan, The Strangling of Persia, Page 178, Published by The Century Company, 1912 Katouzian, Homa, Musaddiq and the Struggle for Power in Iran, Page 261, Published by I.B Tauris Publishers, London, 1990 Ahmad, Akbar and Forst, Brian, After Terror: Promoting Dialogue among Civilizations Page 151, Published by Cambridge Polity Press, 2005 Parsi, Trita, The Price of Not Talking to Iran, Page 12, World Policy Journal Published by World Policy Institute, Winter 2006/07, Vol. 23, No. 4, Obama, Barrack, New Year Message to the People of Iran (March 19, 2009), retrieved on December 01, 2009 from Read More