Iran and USA: conflict over the years

USA - IRAN: Relations in the Past

US-Iran diplomatic relations root back to Persia times, when the US was helping to develop industry in Iran's predecessor. Back that time, Americans pursued purely self-serving goals - subjugate Iran to Americans’ economic interests and then seize a leading position in the country. America directed its missionary campaigns and then began to impose various unconscionable contracts and intrude its personnel in the local government. In 1911, for example, an American, Morgan Schuster, was appointed as a Head of the local treasury in Persia. This was the first, though short, serious attempt to achieve the expansion of American influence in Persia: all monetary and tax operations in the country, as well as the accounting of all state expenditures, were under US control, which naturally caused a storm of resentment among the local population.

The apogee of warm Iranian - American relations was the Pahlavi dynasty, which came to power with the help of American campaigns. Subsequently, due to Reza Pahlavi's policy of westernising Iran, during World War II, the US introduced a repeated financial mission led by A. Milspaugh, economic advisor to the US State Department. As part of this campaign, the Americans established control over key positions in Iran's finances and the entire economy, interfered in political life, hindered the development of Soviet-Iranian relations, and took control over oil industry investments and incomes. Despite protest movements against Milspaugh and his expulsion two years after the mission began, the U.S. continued to build and strengthen its friendly ties with Iran. During the Cold War, for example, Tehran became one of Washington's closest allies in countering the USSR, receiving loans to purchase American military equipment and military advisers.

Later, in 1953, the US, eager to keep its influence over the Iranians, carried out a successful operation called "Ajax", aimed at overthrowing Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, and preventing the communist influence strengthening and nationalization of the oil industry in the country. Although this operation was one of the first successful American attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign country, it triggered a sharp rise in anti-Western sentiments and the strengthening of the Muslim reforms movement in Iran.

Thus, in 1978, the Islamic Revolution began, accompanied by protest slogans due to the American policy in the region. Naturally, these events caused considerable political furore from Western countries, including the United States. Following these events America did not dare to give a hand to its former ally. Therefore, as a result of the revolution, the Shah's regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi fell. And the new supreme leader of the state became Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, an antagonist of the Western and pro-American path chosen by his predecessor. Under the Ayatollah's administration, a new constitution was adopted and a complete Islamization of all spheres of Iranian society took place.

But the no-return point of US-Iran diplomatic relations was the seizure by the Organisation of Muslim Students of 66 hostages in the American embassy in Tehran. Their main demand was the extradition of fugitive Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the US. The radicals refused to hold any negotiations until their demands had been fully met. The attack on the American embassy was qualified by the US Government as an act of terrorism. All these circumstances led to the severance of diplomatic relations in April 1980 and first sanctions rollout.

USA-IRAN: Relations Now

The antagonization of Washington-Tehran relations in the 21st century intensified during the presidency of George W. Bush Jr. who believed that Tehran worked at developing nuclear weapons. The U.S. government officially classified Iran as an "axis of evil", which was considered negatively by the Iranian leadership. It also led to the presidential election victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a fierce opponent of American rhetoric and one of the founders of Iranian nuclear programme. Iran continued uranium enrichment activities despite IAEA and UN Security Council resolutions imposing tough sanctions

Iranian government inconsistent and cavalier attitude towards the UN Security Council resolutions led to destruction the country's gradually developing economy and multiplication of unilateral and multilateral sanctions imposed by America, the European Union and other West states.

The stream of sanctions that the West massively imposed between 2006 – 2012 to struggle Tehran's nuclear programme demonstrated not only its pressure and attempts to control the internal affairs of other states, preventing the Iranian people from exercising their legitimate rights to use the peaceful atom, but also the inconsistent stance of the previous government, which was unable to resolve the contradictions through negotiations.

The situation changed in 2013, when Hassan Rouhani came to power. He changed completely the vector of domestic policy and expressed his open-mindedness in further heated discussions with the West. It was under Hassan Rouhani auspices that the first telephone conversation over past 34 years between the US and Iranian leaders took place. Two years later the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement, was signed. The outcome of the JCPOA was reservation of Iran's right to conduct peaceful nuclear activities (reducing Iran's nuclear programme) and lifting sanctions imposed by the US, the EU and the UN Security Council.

It might seem that after mentioned agreement signing, Iran's economy began to recover: in 2015 the level of exports increased by 30% compared to 2014.

Another round of of US-Iran relations decline took place as early as 2017, when Donald Trump came to office. In May 2018, he announced the country's withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Agreement due to evidence of continued nuclear weapons development, as a subsequent step Trump re-imposed sanctions against Iran and its top leadership, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and recognized the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist organization".

In response to the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran announced its intention to cease  implementing a number of clauses of the “Nuclear Deal” related to its stockpile of enriched uranium, set at 300kg, and heavy water. A couple of months later, Tehran announced the second stage of reducing its commitments under the JCPOA and said it was starting the process of uraniumenrichment at a level above 3.67 %, previously stipulated in the Deal. Despite this, Hassan Rouhani still declared openness for dialogue with Washington on possible sanctions problem solution.

It was IRGC General Qasem Soleimani assassination in 2020 which became an apogee of US-IRAN diplomatic relations downfall. The general's assassination was qualified by Ayatollah Khamenei as an “act of international terrorism”, which led to Iranian people unification in countering external pressure. As a result of mentioned events, according to the results of a recent inspection of nuclear reactors in Iran, IAEA experts found uranium with a high degree of enrichment, close to the level necessary for the creation of nuclear weapons. Tehran has now brought the level of purification of radioactive metals to 84 %, which is only 6 % below the level, needed to build nuclear missiles and bombs.

Since late 19th century, Iran and United States have been experiencing drastically different periods: peace, being allies, and immense tensions - sworn enemies. Over the years their relations have undergone a huge number of aggression outbreaks and conflict situations on the verge of military clashes. Many deaths, devastated economy and local population's rejection of regular foreign intervention in the country's internal affairs remain a perennial stumbling block between Tehran and Washington for many years.