The US-Iran diplomatic estrangement cannot be divorced from their hostile history which is full of various antagonistic standings and inflexible behaviour. The leaders of both countries remained reluctant in bringing flexibility in their diplomatic stubbornness. In the absence of diplomatically cooperative and politically friendly ties, officials of both states showed determination to support the hostile stance of their governments. Traditionally unfriendly interaction between Tehran and Washington turned a new page in 2013 where the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif met with the US foreign secretary, John Kerry in New York. It was the second term of President Obama when Kerry engaged in constructive interaction on Tehran’s nuclear program with the US-educated Iranian foreign minister. In 2015. the leaders of both nations agreed to take concrete steps in bilateral relations and to resolve the bone of contention (Iran’s nuclear program) between them. The United States along with a group of states (UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany) agreed to step ahead with Iran on nuclear issue. The whole situation resulted in the Iran Nuclear Deal or P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was the nuclear deal signed between Iran and P5+1 in Vienna, In July 2015. the interim agreement over Iran’s nuclear status was finalized in which the foreign ministers of the participating nations succeeded in convincing Tehran to accept Additional Protocol; it was also decided that Tehran would redesign. convert and reduce its nuclear facilities. This nuclear deal was largely considered as an appreciable achievement of the international non-proliferation regime because the international community was successful in breaking the ice between Washington and Tehran. Moreover, this nuclear deal provided various investment opportunities to the international community because of the termination of economic sanctions and relaxation of secondary nuclear-related financial barriers increased the significance of Iran in the world. People from world’s capitals appreciated the positive outcome. Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon welcomed the JCPOA and opined the agreement a comprehensive. negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue that will contribute to peace and stability in the region.” Apart from the United Nations, leaders of developed nations marked the deal as a positive development for the Middle Eastern region.
The course of history changed with the change of US government. The forty-fifth President of the United States. Donald Trump assumed office on January 20. 2017 and introduced his vision for managing foreign relations. In order to keep his country dominant and prominent in the international system, president Trump altered the major decision of US foreign policy which were taken by prior administration The Trump government perceived Iran as a major threat to the US, viewing Iran as a major Islamic power in the Middle Eastern region. Regarding the nuclear status Of Tehran. President Trump opined the Islamic Republic of Iran was on the road to nuclear weapons. The nuclear deal signed by President Obama was described by Trump as a “desperation” while calling the deal as a “terrible development”. During an address to the American Israel Public Affair Committee (AIPAC) in 2016, Trump mentioned, “my number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.” Trump also stated, “Iran is a very big problem and will continue to be.’ The aggressive tone of Trump provided confidence to the major US allies of Middle Eastern region.
During the Brussels Summit of NATO 2017 President Trump asked major allies to hold off from signing new business deals with Iran which was a direct violation of the JCPOA Leading American authorities endorsed Trump’s position on Iran and Trump’s decision to stop allies from doing business with Iran. The major turnaround occurred in 2018 when Trump decided to end negotiation with Iran and withdraw Washington from landmark nuclear accord with Tehran. Prior to the meeting with European nations at Brussels, President Trump declared a ban on the entry of Iranian citizens in the US under the Executive Order 13769, a travel ban executive order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. Furthermore, another legislative move against a group of states including Iran was finalized in July 2017 when the American Congress passed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) The continuation of Trump’s harsh stance over the issue of nuclear Iran further hardened in April 2019 with the announcement of formally calling the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC was created after the Islamic revolution of 1979 and became a specified the history of American foreign relations, this happened for the first time that US Officials officially labelled the formal military of another country as a terrorist force.
This move raised existing level of diplomatic tensions between Washington and Tehran with leaders resuming their strict official positions. The Trump administration designed the anti-Iran move and swiftly adopted an anti-Iran policy in order to support its Middle Eastern allies mainly Saudi Arabia and Israel. The temperature of Washington-Tehran conflict has now reached an unprecedented level and became a competition in which the two governments activated their forces.
In the presence of abovementioned situation, President Trump to hit Iran with harsh economic tensions which will not only Tehran into serious economic crisis but it Will also weaken Iran’s position in regional and extra-regional affairs. The adaptation of severe sanctions is largely considered by the international community as a strategic move to pressurize help Tehran which would Washington in stabilizing its position in the Muslim work Moreover. It would enable Washington to meet its strategic objectives by upholding the positions of its major allies in the Middle Eastern region. US allies which were reluctant in appreciating Obama’s initiated nuclear deal with Iran are now encouraged by the United States. No doubt, the Obama administration added a new chapter in the history of American foreign relations by inaugurating a constructive discussion with President Rouhani and engaged Iran in bilateral dialogue on nuclear issue, this development changed the course of history and ceased the US-backed punitive measures cemented in economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation and intelligence work. No doubt, the end of tension on military, financial and covert levels was a Success of Obama and Rouhani having starting a new phase of ties, but this temporary phase of cooperative dialogues between two states lost its significance during the Trump administration.
President Trump has changed the Washington’s way of looking to the world. Leading American state officials have adopted a non-conventional approach for dealing with Muslim countries. The Iranian nuclear program coupled with its ideological political attributes under an Islamic notion has been translated by the US officials a threat to American position in the Gulf region. Additionally, Tehran’s regional standing in the Persian Gulf and Western Asian regions has been interpreted by Washington as fundamental source of tension. Iran’s problematic ties with main US allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel, is the main concern of United States. Now, tensions between Iran and US are on the rise and representatives of both nations are preparing themselves for any future contingency. Great responsibility lies with the international community because the custodians of peace and stability from around the globe need to intervene between Washington and Tehran in a bid to resolve the emerging crisis between two powerful states, It is essential for Washington to adopt a pragmatic and rational approach to deal with Iran, it needs to accept the undeniable fact that the contemporary world has changed, Any aggrieve US move will activate the counterbalancing forces and the United States Will receive an immediate response from other super powers. In this way, the whole international system will nosedive into a major crisis which can push the entire intonational system into crisis the international community needs to take timely action based on practical measures to tackle the Washington-Tehran conflict.
