Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T05:45:20.963Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Iran and the United States: Reconcilable Differences?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Gawdat Bahgat*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Abstract

Hostility between Iran and the United States has intensified since the mid-2000s. America's allegations regarding Iran's nuclear program and its association with terrorist organizations are the main drive for this rising tension. This study focuses on the latter. Specifically, it examines Tehran's ties to militant groups in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. I argue that although American and Iranian interests in the region are very different, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Young, Karen De, “U.S. Keeps Pressure on Iran but Decreases Saber Rattling,” Washington Post, 11 February, 2007Google Scholar.

2 Cooper, Helene and Mazzetti, Mark, “To Counter Iran's Role in Iraq, Bush Moves Beyond Diplomacy,” New York Times, 11 January, 2007Google Scholar.

3 National Intelligence Estimate, Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf (accessed 3 December 2007).

4 Department of State Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Country Reports on Terrorism 2005, (Washington, DC, April 2006), 173.

5 Bill, James A., “The Cultural Underpinnings of Polities: Iran and the United States,” Mediterranean Quarterly 17, no.1 (Winter 2006): 2333CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 32.

6 McFaul, Michael, Milani, Abbas, and Diamond, Larry, “A Win-Win Strategy for Dealing with Iran,” Washington Quarterly 30, no.1 (Winter 2006–07): 121138Google Scholar, 122.

7 Wallis, William, England, Andrew, and Smyth, Gareth, “Arab States Seize on Call for Peace Drive,” Financial Times, 8 December 2006Google Scholar, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/50517400-865e-11db-86d5-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=f98b03ba.

8 Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, “Questioning the Shiite Crescent,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=print&id=19117 (accessed 25 April 2007).

9 Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh contend that Iran “abandoned the goal of exporting its revolution to its Persian Gulf neighbors at the end of 1980s and seeks influence within the existing regional power structure.” Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh, “What We Can Learn from Britain about Iran,” New York Times, 5 April 2007, available on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/opinion/05NasrTakeyh.html?pagewanted=print (accessed 5 April 2007).

10 Ray Takeyh, “Understanding the Iran Crisis,” Prepared Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Council on Foreign Relations, http://www.cfr.org (accessed 2 February 2007).

11 “Withdrawal of Occupiers First Step to Establish Security in Iraq,” Tehran Times, 29 November, 2006.

12 “U.S. Shows Iranian Arms Found in Iraq,” Reuters, 11 February, 2007.

13 Nasr, Vali, “When the Shiites Rise,” Foreign Affairs 85, no.4 (July–August 2006): 5874CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 66.

14 “Iran Has Always Sought to Expand Ties with Turkey: Leader,” Mehr News, 3 December 2007, http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=415910 (accessed 11 June 2007).

15 Takeyh, Ray, “Time for Détente with Iran,” Foreign Affairs 86, no. 2 (March/April 2007): 29Google Scholar.

16 R. K. Ramazani, “Wider Conflict Threatens,” Payvand, http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1142.html (accessed 12 February 2007).

17 Sanger, David E., “With Korea as Model, U.S. Ponders Long Role in Iraq,” New York Times, 3 June, 2007Google Scholar.

18 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2005, 197.

19 Harff, Barbara, “Minorities, Rebellion, and Repression in North Africa and the Middle East,” in Minorities at Risk: A Global View of Ethno-Political Conflicts, ed. Gurr, Ted Robert (Washington, DC, 1993), 216251Google Scholar, 239.

20 Fuller, Graham E., “The Hezbollah-Iran Connection: Model for Sunni Resistance,” Washington Quarterly 30, no. 1 (Winter 2006–07): 139150CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 144.

21 Cobban, Helena, “The Growth of Shiite Power in Lebanon and Its Implications for the Future,” in Shi'ism and Social Protest, ed. Cole, Juan R.I. and Keddie, Nikki R. (New Haven, 1986), 137155Google Scholar, 144.

22 Norton, Augustus Richard, Hezbollah: A Short History (Princeton, 2007), 34Google Scholar.

23 Ehteshami, Anoushiravan and Hinnebusch, Raymond A., Syria and Iran: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System (London, 1997), 123Google Scholar.

24 “Hezbollah through the Fog of the Lebanon War: An Interview with Augustus Richard Norton,” Journal of Palestine Studies 36, no.1 (Autumn 2006), 54–70, 64.

25 Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, “In Their Own Words: Hezbollah's Strategy in the Current Confrontation,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, http://www.CarnegieEndowment.org (accessed 30 January 2007).

26 “Middle East: A Look at Who Gained, Who Lost,” Payvand, http://www.payvand.com/news/06/aug/1166.html (accessed 16 August 2006).

27 “Iran Leader Praises Hezbollah Resistance,” Associated Press, 16 August, 2006.

28 Keinon, Herb, Hoffman, Gil, and Weiss, Mark, “Winograd Report: PM Was Unprepared,” Jerusalem Post, 30 April, 2007Google Scholar.

29 Bill Samii, “Iran: Is Tehran Protecting Its Investment in Hezbollah?” Payvand, http://www.payvand.com (accessed 14 August 2006).

30 “Bolton Admits Lebanon Truce Block,” British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6479377.stm (accessed 23 May 2007).

31 Cited in Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, “Tehran Teeters on the Path to War,” Asia Times, http://www.atimes.com (accessed 2 August 2006).

32 Richard, Norton Augustus, “Why Hezbollah is Winning,” Middle East Journal 61, no.1 (Winter 2007): 145150Google Scholar, 147.

33 Fuller, Graham E., “The Hezbollah-Iran Connection: Model for Sunni Resistance,” Washington Quarterly 30, no. 1 (Winter 2006–07), 139150CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 150.

34 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2005, 195–196.

35 “Palestinian State Will Definitely Be Established: Leader,” Tehran Times, 10 December, 2006, http://www.Tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=12/11/2006&Cat=2&Num=017 (accessed 10 December 2006).

36 Chubin, Shahram, Iran's Nuclear Ambitions (Washington, DC, 2006), 130133Google Scholar.

37 Kessler, Glenn, “2003 Memo Says Iranian Leaders Backed Talks,” Washington Post, 14 February, 2007Google Scholar.

38 Cited in Takeyh, Ray, “Iran, Israel and the Politics of Terrorism,” Survival 48, no. 4 (Winter 2006–07), 8396CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 92.

39 Ethan Bronner, “Iran's Leader and Israel: What Did He Say, and What Did He Mean?” International Herald Tribune, 11 June 2006, http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/06/11/news/iran/php (accessed 11 June 2006).

41 Ehteshami, Anoushiravan, “The Future of Iran's Defense and Nuclear Policy,” in Iranian Challenges, ed. Posch, Walter (Paris, 2006), 73Google Scholar.

42 International Institute for Strategic Studies, Military Balance (London, 2007), 224, 227.

43 Donna Miles, “Gates Calls for Continued International Pressure on Iran,” U.S. Department of Defense http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48364 (accessed 8 December 2007).

44 Zarif, Javad, “How Not to Inflame Iraq,” New York Times, 8 February, 2007Google Scholar.

45 “Rafsanjani, al-Qaradawi Call for Unity among Muslims,” Tehran Times, 15 February, 2007, http://www.Tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=2/15/2007&Cat=2&Num=022 (accessed 15 February 2007).

46 “Ahmadinejad Makes Landmark Visit to UAE,” Tehran Times, 14 May, 2007, http://www.Tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=5/14/2007&Cat=2&Num=009 (accessed 14 May 2007).

47 Farley, Maggie, “U.S. and Iran Have Been Talking Quietly,” Los Angeles Times, 9 March, 2007Google Scholar.

48 For example, see MacAskill, Ewen, “Target Iran: U.S. Able to Strike in the Spring,” Guardian, 10 February 2007Google Scholar. See also, Seymour M. Hersh who wrote several articles in the New Yorker claiming that American Special Forces are already operating in Iran and have identified several targets for a military strike.

49 Young, Karen De “U.S. Keeps Pressure on Iran but Decreases Saber Rattling,” Washington Post, 11 February, 2007Google Scholar.

50 See for example, McFaul, Michael, Milani, Abbas, Diamond, Larry, A Win-Win U.S. Strategy for Dealing with Iran,” Washington Quarterly 30, no. 1 (Winter 2006–07), 121138CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 125.

51 Higgins, Andrew and Solomon, Jay, “Strange Bedfellows: Iranian Imbroglio Gives New Boost to Odd Exile Group,” Wall Street Journal, 29 November, 2006Google Scholar.

52 Ansari, Ali, “Continuous Regime Change from Within,” Washington Quarterly 26, no. 4 (Fall 2003), 5367CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 65.

53 Claims of this meeting were widely reported in the Israeli media. See Rosner, Shmuel and Benn, Aluf, “A Time for Peace?” Haaretz, 6 October, 2006Google Scholar, and Jerusalem Post, “Editorial: Talking with the Saudis,” 27 September, 2006.

54 These sanctions were invoked under Executive Order 13382, which President Bush signed in June 2005.

55 Baker, James A. and Hamilton, Lee H., The Iraq Study Group Report (New York, 2006), 51CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

56 Sick, Gary, “A Selective Partnership: Getting U.S.-Iranian Relations Rights,” Foreign Affairs 85, no. 6 (November-December 2006): 142146CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 145.

57 “Iran, U.S. Reach Iraq Policy Consensus,” Tehran Times, 29 May, 2007, http://www.Tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=5/29/2007&Cat=2&Num=014 (accessed 29 May 2007).

58 BBC News report, “U.S. military aid for Middle East,” 30 July, 2007, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6922664.stm (accessed 3 August 2007).

59 Gary Sick, “A Selective Partnership: Getting U.S.-Iranian Relations Right,” 142–146, 146.

60 Hooshang Amirahmadi, “U.S.-Iran Relations: Perils and Promises,” Payvand, http://www.payvand.com/news/06/sep/1254.html (accessed 22 September 2006).