History of Iran
- Their plan 戦争を起こす彼らにやり方
イランの歴史とアメリカ合衆国関係
History of Iran and United States of America Relation
Yulianita Aleazurra
UPLOADED BY Yulianita Aleazurra
Bilateral Diplomacy between Iran and United States of America under Hassan Rouhani’s Administration
Abstrak
Ketegangan dalam hubungan bilateral Iran dan Amerika Serikat telah berlangsung lama. Sanksi terhadap Iran berkali-kali dijatuhkan oleh Amerika dan sekutunya. Apalagi adanya kecurigaan bahwa Iran sedang membangun senjata pemusnah massal dalam program nuklir miliknya.
Pada pemerintahannya sebelumnya, kecurigaan ini dibalas dengan sikap tertutup dan masa bodo oleh Iran. Namun, setelah Hassan Rouhan, yang dilihat sebagai politisi moderat, terpilih pada 15 Juni 2013. Hubungan Iran dan Amerika Serikat mengalami kemajuan setelah 32 tahun, tidak adanya hubungan bilateral resmi antara kedua negara. Artikel ini akan membahas secara mendalam perubahan perspektif diplomasi Iran terhadap Amerika di bawah pemerintahan Hassan Rouhan dan juga kemajuan yang dicapai dalam diplomasi bilateral Iran dan Amerika.
Introduction
There is no formal diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States due to poor relations between the two countries, instead of exchanging ambassadors, Iran maintains an interests section at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C.,
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while the United States has maintained a corresponding interests section at the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran.
http://www.daftar.org/far/default.asp
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Since December 2011, the United States has also maintained a virtual embassy online.
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/meta/error.html
3.Relations between the two nations began in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Initially, while Iran was very wary of British and Russian colonial interests during the Great Game, the United States was seen as a more trustworthy Western power, and the Americans Arthur Millspaugh and Morgan Shuster were even appointed treasurers-general by the Shahs of the time. During World War II,
Iran was invaded by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, both US allies, but relations continued to be positive after the war until the later years of the government of Mohammad Mossadeq, who was overthrown by a coup organized by MI6 and aided by the Central Intelligence Agency. This was followed by an era of very close
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/12/178343.html
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alliance between Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's regime and the U.S. government, which was in turn followed by a dramatic reversal and hostility between the two countries after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Opinions differ over what has caused the decades of poor relations.
Iranian explanations include everything from the natural and unavoidable conflict between the Islamic Revolution on the one hand, and perceived American arrogance 4 and desire for global hegemony on the other.
5.Other explanations include the Iranian government's need for an external bogeyman to furnish a pretext for domestic repression against pro-democratic forces and to bind the government to its loyal constituency.
Since 1995, the United States has had an embargo on trade with Iran. According to a 2013 BBC World Service Poll, 5% of Americans view Iranian influence positively, with 87% expressing a negative view, the most unfavorable perception of Iran in the world.
Nuclear program in Iran is still one of the main issues between the US-Iran relations in the current Obama Administration. U.S government does not recognize Iran's right to nuclear power;it has been persistently trying to stop the program’s advancement using sanctions to isolate the Iranian economy by stopping monetary flow.
All attempts to defuse the tensions were stopped by US unconditional demand to stop uranium enrichment, which is unacceptable to Iranians.6 Nevertheless, Iran continued its program and in 2010, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran was now a "nuclear state," producing uranium enriched to up to 20%.
7.However, under Hasan Rouhani’s administration, Iran has shown a different way to build bilateral diplomatic with U.S. The visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to New York City in September 2013 was hailed as major progress in Iran's relations with United States.
4.Q&A With the Head of Iran's New America's Desk online.wsj.com APRIL 1, 2009
5.Reading Khamenei: The World View of Iran's Most Powerful Leader, by Karim Sadjadpour March 2008 p.20
6.Leverett, Flynt; Leverett, Hillary. "The Real Obstacles to Successful Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran Lie in Washington, Not Tehran
7.Slackman, Michael (Feb, 11 2010). "Iran Boasts of Capacity to Make Bomb Fuel". The New York Times. Retrieved April, 25, 2014
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Moreover, a nuclear program that caused negative perspective, dispute with western countries and even sanctions for Iran, had reached its agreement easily in between the P5+1 countries and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov, 24 2013.
8.History of Iran and United States of America Relation
Prior to the fall of the Shah in the late 1970's, Iran was an American ally. The source of contention between the U.S. and Iran is the product of a series of historical events.
According to Ken Pollack of The Brookings Institution: "Remove all of the baggage-all of the ideology, the history, whatever else-and look in purely geostrategic terms. It's hard to figure out why the U.S. and Iran would necessarily be in conflict. In fact during the Shah's era, before 1979- recognizing that there were all kinds of other problems-the U.S. and Iran worked together splendidly at the strategic level."
9.Several series of event has been escalated Iran and U.S diplomatic tensions. First, the Revolution, the U.S.-supported coup (1953) ushered in two decades of dictatorship under the Shah, who relied heavily on U.S. aid and arms.
During this period, Iran's society changed and modernized too rapidly for some opponents of the regime. President Carter criticized the Shah's regime and its poor human rights record. The Shah, understands that he depended on U.S. support, responded to Carter's request for change by taking steps towards liberalization.
Carter, in turn, better appreciated the strategic importance of Iran both in the Middle East and for the United States in general: the U.S.-Iran alliance helped balance Soviet influence in the region. The Iranian people, on the other hand, grew weary of repression and corruption, which the Iranians believed was inextricably linked to the United States.
Some Iranians wanted a sense of stability and order and called for the traditions of Islam. Many Iranians looked to Ayatollah Khomeini for guidance and leadership in their opposition against the Shah. Khomeini regarded the Shah's regime as corrupt and illegitimate and referred to the U.S. as the "Great Satan."
At the request of the Iranian prime minister, the Shah left Iran on January 16, 1979. On February 1, 1979, Khomeini became the new leader of Iran. Second, Iranian hostage crisis, on November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the American Embassy in Tehran and took 63 American Embassy personnel hostage.
8.Yulianita (Mar, 08 2014). “Iran calls for dialogue to solve global issues”. The Jakarta Post, (world section).
9.The Brookings Institution, Interview with Kenneth M. Pollack (January 24, 2005). Online. Available: http://www.brookings.edu/interviews/2005/0124iran_pollack.aspx. Retrieved: April, 25 2014.
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The specific grievance of the students (the hostage takers) focused on the Shah and his relationship with the U.S. In October 1979, U.S. officials learned the Shah was diagnosed with cancer. The Shah requested entry to the U.S. for medical treatment; President Carter rejected his request. After a vigorous campaign led by influential U.S. Shah supporters, the Shah was admitted into the United States.
The arrival of the Shah to the U.S. instigated Iranian unrest, which led to the invasion of the U.S. Embassy. It evoked memories of the 1953 coup and aroused fear that the U.S. was planning another coup to restore the Shah to power. In short, for the students who took over the Embassy, for the Iranian revolutionary officials who supported them, and for much of Iran, the taking of the Embassy was a response to the 1953 coup against Mossadeq.
10.The U.S. responded to the situation through economic and diplomatic pressures. President Carter stopped U.S. oil imports from Iran, froze all Iranian assets in U.S. banks, and, with the exception of humanitarian goods, the U.S. ceased all trade with Iran. However, the economic sanctions and diplomatic pressures did not compel a hostage release.
The U.S. then responded with a failed military action, resulting in the deaths of eight Americans. The hostage crisis served as the defining moment of the U.S. and Iran relationship for Americans. The hostage was occurred within a day of Reagan taking the oath of presidency; the hostages were released and returned stateside. However, during President Reagan's administration, there was little to no improvement in U.S.-Iran relations.
In 1983, Hezbollah conducted a series of anti-American terrorist attacks, and in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Iran supported the terrorist organization. The Iran-Contra scandal followed the Hezbollah attacks. During the Iran-Contra scandal, the U.S. illegally sold weapons to Iran and used the profits to support the Contras in Nicaragua. Despite the series of events with Iran in the 1980s, it was the accidental shooting down of a commercial airline by the U.S. that increased the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.
In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian commercial flight in Iranian air space over the Strait of Hormuz - 290 Iranians died. Although the U.S. paid a compensation of $61.8 million to Iran, the U.S. never paid for the lost aircraft nor did they offer an official apology to Iran.
10.Kenneth M. Pollack, The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America (New York: Random House, 2004), p 155.
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There was a little improvement of Iran and U.S relation during the election of reformist Mohammad Khatami in 1997 brought a sense of optimism for U.S.- Iran relations. Throughout his campaign and post-election, Chatomi expressed that he wanted to improve Iranian relations with the U.S. In his first major campaign speech, Khatami suggested that if the U.S. changed its bad behavior, the U.S. and Iran could have normal relations.
This was a major shift from the past leadership of Khomeini who believed that Iran and the U.S. could never have normal relations. Although the Clinton Administration welcomed Khatami's election, they remained vigilant and cautious of the sincerity of Khatami's rhetoric toward the U.S. Although Khatami indicated that the time was not yet right for direct bilateral discussions, he argued that the two countries begin to build relations through more informal, cultural exchanges. Not too long after Khatami made these statements, the Clinton administration sent an American wrestling team to compete in Iran. The U.S. and Iran soon followed by allowing more open travel between the two countries to further encourage and facilitate people-to- people exchanges.11.
The U.S. even lifted the embargo on two import items: rugs and pistachios. However, the amicable exchanges ultimately stalled. Iran's conservatives remained unwilling to make further concessions and the U.S. was equally unwilling to negotiate terms of discussions including changes in Iranian policy on Israel, nuclear energy, and support for terrorism. Meanwhile, there have been no improvements in U.S.-Iran relations during the Bush Administration. In his State of the Union Address in 2002, President Bush labeled Iran as part of the "Axis of Evil,”outraging the Iranian leadership. Iran responded with a public statement: "the Islamic Republic is proud to be a target of the hate and anger of the world's greatest evil; we never seek to be praised by American officials."12.
However, in 2003, Iran did offer a proposal trying to ease strained relations between the two rivals. Iran put several different issues on the table including an offer, within the framework of the negotiations, to disarm Hezbollah and turn it into a mere political organization. Secondly, the offer included an end of all support for Islamic jihad and Hamas,
11.Pollack, Loc.Cit., p 321.
12.Ibid, p 352
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and provisions that Iran would encourage the Palestinians to go a political route, rather than military route, in their dealings with Israel.13
The U.S. rejected the offer. Overall, the rhetoric of the Bush administration has been that Iran is a threat to not only the United States, but also to the international community.
In response to Iran’s continued illicit nuclear activities, the United States and other countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions to censure Iran and prevent its further progress in prohibited nuclear activities, as well as to persuade Tehran to address the international community’s concerns about its nuclear program. Acting both through the
United Nations Security Council and regional or national authorities, the United States, the member states of the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, and others have put in place a strong, inter-locking matrix of sanctions measures relating to Iran's nuclear, missile, energy, shipping, transportation, and financial sectors. According to U.S. officials, Iran may lose up to $60 billion in energy investments due to global sanctions.14
Who is Hassan Rouhani?
Hassan Rouhani (Persian:س ن ور ; born 12 November 1948) is the 7th President of Iran, in office since 2013. He is also a lawyer, academic and former diplomat. He has been a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts since 1999, member of the Expediency Council since 1991, member of the Supreme National Security Council since 1989, and head of the Center for Strategic Research since 1992.
Rouhani was deputy speaker of the 4th and 5th terms of the Parliament of Iran (Majlis) and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005. In the latter capacity, was the country's top negotiator with the EU three, UK, France, and Germany, on nuclear technology in Iran, and has also served as a Shi'ite ijtihadi cleric, and economic trade negotiator. He has expressed official support for upholding the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. In 2013, he appointed former miner and Isfahan legislator Shaq Jahangir as his vice-president.
13.The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States. Online. Available: http://www.democracynow.org/2007/9/25/the_secret_dealings_of_israel_iran. Retrieved:April,25 2014.
14.What Sanctions Means for Iran’s Economy, Lionel Beehener. Online. Available:
http://www.cfr.org/iran/sanctions-mean-irans-economy/p10590. Retrieved: April, 25 2014.
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On 7 May 2013, Rouhani registered for the presidential election that was held on 14 June 2013. He said that, if elected, he would prepare a "civil rights charter", restore the economy and improve rocky relations with Western nations. Rouhani is viewed as politically moderate.
As early vote counts began coming in, he took a large lead. He was elected as President of Iran on 15 June, defeating Tehran mayor Mohammad Bather Galabad and four other candidates. He took office on 3 August 2013. In 2013, TIME magazine named him 9th of the Most Influential People in the World. In domestic policy, he encourages personal freedom and free access to information, has improved women's rights by appointing female foreign ministry spokespersons, and has been described as a centrist and reformist who have improved Iran's diplomatic relations with other countries through exchanging conciliatory letters.
Iran and U.S relationship under H
assan Rouhani’s administration
After, Rouhani was elected as President of Iran on Jun, 15 2013. He was visiting New York City in September 2013. It was hailed as major progress in Iran's relations with U.S. Rouhani previously said that his government was ready to hold talks with the U.S after 32 years.15
However, he rejected U.S. President Barrack Obama's request for a meeting with him. On 27 September, a day after the two countries' foreign ministers met during the P5+1 and Iran talks, Rouhani and Obama spoke by telephone, the two countries' highest political exchange since 1979.16
The call led to protests by Iranian conservatives who chanted "death to America" when Rouhani returned to Tehran. On the 34th anniversary of the embassy siege, tens of thousands of supporters of a more hard-line approach to relations gathered at the site of the former U.S. embassy to denounce rapprochement. It was the largest such gathering in recent years.
The Iranian economy is reeling from sanctions that are crippling its ability to trade.sanctions limit travel by senior Iranian officials, cut into oil sales that are Iran’s main source of revenue, and impede the ability of the central bank to finance Iranian business abroad. This comes at a time when Iran has undertaken a reform of its domestic subsidies, reducing
The sanctions, which are against Iran’s nuclear work, include collective interdictions from the
United Nations and even tougher measures from individual countries such as the U.S. The
15.Iran seeks engagement with United States by Akbar. E Torbat. Online. Available: http://www.countercurrents.org/torbat290913.htm. Retrieved: April, 25 2014.
16.Obama speaks with Iranian President Rouhani NBC News 27 September 2013.
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Iranians’ buying power.
All eyes are on whether Rouhani will present a more conciliatory approach in international talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which Washington fears is directed to making
nuclear weapons. The talks have broken down due to the irreconcilable positions of the two sides. Iran wants sanctions lifted as a first step and its right to make nuclear fuel acknowledged without reserve.
The United States and its five negotiating allies want Iran first to stop medium-level enrichment, which makes fuel closer to what Iran would need to have bomb material, and then to suspend all enrichment until there are guarantees Tehran will not seek atomic arms. Iranian foreign affairs minister, Mohammad Javed Zarif, on his visit to Indonesia, was
gave a public lecture of global perspective of Iran’s foreign policy. In his speech, he mentioned, Iran under Hassan Rouhani’s administration was change, military solution does
not solve any issues. Iran prefers dialogue rather than suppression and intimidation to solve global issues and avoid embroiling in a zero-sum game.
According to Rouhani, every side involved in zero-sum game will suffer losses.Despite the value of losses being different, you cannot gain security by expanding other’
s insecurity. For example, U. S had the largest military budget, exceeding the combined budgets of the next 10 countries. With such a huge military, he said Americans should feel secure yet they don’t.Hassan Rouhani stated,“We, the United States and Iran, can arrive at a framework to manage our differences.
What I would say here is that there is great interest on what Iran might be prepared to accept in the way of significant constraints and obligations when it comes to its nuclear program, what it requires in turn in the realm of the easing of economic sanctions, and how the government might choose to define what Iran's supreme leader recently called
heroic flexibility.”17.
17.A conversation with Hassan Rouhani. Online. Available: http://www.cfr.org/iran/conversation-hassan-rouhani/p31507?cid=rss-iran-a_conversation_with_hassan_rou-092613. Retrieved: April, 26 2014.
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Rouhanni was also planned to avoiding any new tension in Iran-U.S. relationship and, at the same time, endeavor towards removing tensions that they were inherited from the past, tensions that continue to mar the relations between our two countries.
“While we may not be able to forget the major source of mistrust and suspicion that haunted the minds of the Iranian people in their thinking about the U.S. government in the past 60 years, we need, however, to focus, rather, on the current situation and look forward to the future, trying to turn the turbulent past into a beacon lighting for the path ahead.
As leaders, we need to rise above petty politics and lead, rather than follow, the various interests and pressure groups in our respective countries. In our view, building on and cooperating about issues of interest and concern to both sides could also be another starting point, as it would be in the interest of easing off the ongoing tensions in our region, as well. In so doing, we need to counter those interest groups here in the U.S. and there in the region whose objective is to keep Iran as an issue that is a boiling one.
They seek to further their goal of distracting international attention from issues directly involving themselves and precluding Iran from enhancing its status in the region and diminishing the chance for a negotiated agreement on the Iranian nuclear program and thus increase the chances of a continued Iran-U.S. standoff.” Rouhanni stated.18
Conclusion
A long history and series of event between Iran and U.S bilateral diplomacy relation. Some people believed that Iran and the U.S. could never have normal relations. U.S desire to arrogance and desire for global hegemony on the other were responded by Iran presistence to build a nuclear program. It was a triggered of U.S sense of wary that led to sanctions for Iran. United States and other countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions to censure Iran and prevent its further progress in prohibited nuclear activities. According to U.S. officials, Iran may lose up to $60 billion in energy investments due to global sanctions.
Under Hassan Rouhani’s administration,which is politically modarate, Iran renew their perspective. Iran prefers dialogue rather than suppression and intimidation to solve global issues and avoid embroiling in a zero-sum game. Four months, after Rouhanni elected, he was visiting New York City in September 2013. It was hailed as major progress in Iran's
18.Ibid.
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relations with U.S. On 27 September, a day after the two countries' foreign ministers met during the P5+1 and Iran talks, Rouhani and Obama spoke by telephone, the two countries' highest political exchange since 1979. Nuclear aggrement was signed as the exchange for lifting global sanctions from Iran. According to Rouhanni,
Iran and U.S should try to find a framework to work together and rise above petty politics and lead, rather than follow, the various interests and pressure groups in our respective countries. He was also planned to avoiding another friction on both countries relation.
https://www.academia.edu/8725870/Bilateral_Diplomacy_between_Iran_and_United_States_of_America_under_Hassan_Rouhani_s_Administration
