US-Iran relations: Loose ends in Diplomatic ties

Iran has been facing major criticism from different parts of the world for continuing its nuclear program off-late. It is a serendipitous surprise to know that, it was the USA who provided and set up Iran's first nuclear power plant in the year 1950. Therefore, it is imperative to identify and investigate through the chain of events responsible for an unfortunate state of affairs prevailing in the contemporary time. The outcome of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution was a mercurial point for the USA and Iran's diplomatic ties. The ouster of Iran's King, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the arrival of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from Paris as the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic was considered a big blow to the USA. During 1979, employees and diplomats at the United States Embassy in Tehran were taken hostage; and thereby annihilated the American influence out of Iran which was a priority of the newly converted Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Shah authoritarian rule was supported by the USA. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran was an ally of the United States; both Washington and Tehran viewed Moscow as a threat. After Iran's revolution, the situation became more or less the same; bare importance was given to the USSR under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The race to join the nuclear league was already started way before Iran's revolution. Though during the 1950-1960s the situation was vague with no clear azure, the following years towards 1960 gave a sense of reliability that Iran would not develop or engage in any sort of mechanism that will lead to the development of a nuclear warhead. In the year 1967, Iran acceded to the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and promised to never become a nuclear-armed state. Later in the year 1974, Iran signed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguard agreement, a supplement to NPT in which Iran agreed to allow the IAEA team to inspect its nuclear facility. In the same year, Pahlavi announced to establish an Atomic Energy organization of Iran to generate 23,000 megawatts of energy for the coming 20 years.

Once a cornerstone ally for the USA has now torn apart, followed by the seizure of the US embassy in Iran. This triggered the USA to immediately retract and propose a new foreign policy for the middle east. Certainly, it was a set back for the USA and UK to lose their grip in Iran which holds 157,530,000,000 barrels of proven oil reserves, ranking 4th in the world which accounts for about 9.5% of the world's total oil reserves.

The arrival of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini brought a series of sanctions upon Iran's energy sector. In the year 1980, the U.S. Department of state added Iran to its list of state-sponsored terrorism and immediately imposed comprehensive sanctions on Tehran. Since then Iran was haunted by a variety of sanctions from time to time. In the year 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors adopted a resolution calling for Iran to suspend all enrichment and reprocessing related activities. Over a course of time, the USA raised a plethora of questions on Iran suspecting to have nuclear weapon ambitions, spurring several rounds of sanctions from the UN and EU.

The race to join the nuclear-armed state is a never-ending process for Iran. Its continuous efforts and prodigious advancement for acquiring more sophisticated enrichment will further put Iran in a state of irresolute. Iran signed long term nuclear cooperation agreements with China and Pakistan in the year 1990 and 1987. According to the agreement, 27 kWh, miniature neutron source reactor, and two 300 MWh Qinshan power reactors were provided by China to Iran. Soon after the deal with China, Moscow also agreed to build three additional reactors; leaving the US, UK, European Union and, UN with no choice but to put more sanctions and isolate Iran from the world forum.

In the year 2010, the US Congress passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Disinvestment Act. The US Congress believed that illicit nuclear activities of the Government of Iran, combined with its development of unconventional weapons and ballistic missiles and support for international terrorism, represent a threat to the security of the United State. Subsequent to this Act the foreign-based financial institution, if dealt with sanctioned banks would be barred from the US market and restricted them to deal with the US dollar.

Since then Iran is surrounded by a plethora of sanctions that become the subject of intense international negotiations from 1990 till 2015. After the long intense talk, Iran agreed on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015. Prior to the JCPOA, Iran had built a large uranium infrastructure to produce sufficient highly enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon in a matter of months. After the 2015 arrangement, a comprehensive 25 years nuclear agreement limiting Iran's nuclear capacity in exchange for sanctions relief was put in place. According to the JCPOA following terms were agreed upon like uranium mine monitoring for 25 years, Arak heavy water reactor facility to be redesigned, IAEA monitoring all nuclear element for 20 years, research and new facilities limited for 10 years, and mechanism to restore snap-back sanctions in 65 days if Iran violates the JCPOA accord. The Nuclear agreement further reduced the missile embargo and sanction relief for Gen. Qassam Suleimani and the Iranian revolutionary guard corps. Additionally, Iran had also received 100 Billion dollars after the release of its frozen assets in foreign banks.

In the year 2015 after JCPOA, Iran again started its Ballistic Missile Test which created trouble, and many thought that according to the accord Iran is not supposed to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. On the other hand, Iran was of the notion that; ballistic missile test was not prohibited under the JCPOA and henceforth there is no violation of the 2015 accord as such. While the US National Security Adviser, Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, stated that the missile test was "in defiance of" U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 endorsing the Iran nuclear deal.

In 2016 and 2017, Iran again tested two different varieties of the Qard medium-range ballistic missile. Additionally, Iran emphasized that the missile test is permissible under the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 because missiles are not designed to carry any nuclear warheads. In the year 2018, President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron discussed JCPOA; President Trump proposed to work on a new deal that keeps JCPOA but incorporates additional measures on Iranian ballistic missiles. It is precarious to note that sudden changes in the US administration from Obama to Trump was not a good sign for JCPOA. Since during the Presidential Campaign, Trump referred JCPOA as the worst deal ever negotiated and inclined to renegotiate the deal.

Simultaneously, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports indicated that Iran is implementing all nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA. However, on April 24, 2018; the precipitous change by announcing that the USA is withdrawing from JCPOA and signed a presidential memorandum to initiate the highest level of economic sanctions on Iran left the entire situation unguarded. On the contrary President Rouhani, stated that Iran will continue JCPOA with other member states without the United States. The 15 member panel of the International Court of Justice also concluded that Trump's decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran was unfounded, but the court did not order the USA to remove sanctions or compensate Iran for damages.

Much has been said from both sides through diplomatic channels or military action however, USA continues to put more pressure on imposing a miscellany of sanctions. While on the other side Iran continues to abide by JCPOA terms with other counties followed by numerous Ballistics missile tests. In the year 2019, the USA secretary Mike Pompeo stated that the US is willing to engage with Iran without any precondition. In the same year, the old rival came face to face when Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned that there has not been a single violation of the JCPOA by Iran. To this point, it seems that every member country of JCPOA interprets its terms and conditions differently from others.

In the year 2019, Iran shot down a US surveillance drone and claimed that it was in Iranian airspace while the USA says that the drone was in international airspace. The same situation was faced by the USA during John F. Kennedy's time when Russia shot down the U-2 plane subjecting numerous criticism and violation of airspace. In the current situation, it is not clear whether the drone was flying in the international airspace or Iran intentionally shot down the surveillance drone.

The Middle East is a difficult place with different forms of geopolitical environment surrounded by the influence of world powers. We have Palestine and Israel, the Syrian civil war is yet another disaster followed by Yemen. Saudi has a different approach supporting the Yemenis government while Iran supporting the Houthis in Yemen. America Invaded Iraq with a promise to annihilate weapons of mass destruction which they never found. The situation in Afghanistan brings more surprises when the USA agreed with the Taliban thereby, leaving Afghan legitimate government to deal with the coming crisis.

On the 3rd of January, the USA announced that Soleimani and officials from Iran-backed militias were leaving Baghdad airport in two cars when they were hit by a US drone strike near a cargo area. The headquarters of the US Department of Defense mentioned in a press release that the Soleimani had been "devising plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region". Therefore, the strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.

The Foreign Minister of Iran, Mr. Javaz Zarif in a tweet mentioned that "The US' act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—The most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation. The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism"

The situation is gripping with less space available for any talk or discussion to defuse the tension between the USA and Iran. It is imperative to understand that the entire Middle East barring a few are subject to the proxy war between the USA and Russia where other nations join the league according to the interest best suited to them. The involvement of world power in the name of peace and stability has ultimately imbalanced the entire region with political turmoil. The state of Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain are the most favored nations enjoying more political and military support from the west. While the rest like; Iran, Syria, Yemen, Iraq are declared as a rogue state and considered a threat to the USA and its allies. Even the USA State Department did not fully consider the risk of civilian casualties when it approved more than $8 billion arms sales to Middle Eastern countries last year.

A substantial and comprehensive dialogue is essential to rework the JCPOA. The Trump Administration should also consider the importance of Iran's sloping economy with an independent and impartial approach towards the Middle East. The other states like France, Russia, and UK should not become part of the audience rather more participative approach is expected to address such issues without favoring any particular country.

References:

• Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

• Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Resolution adopted on 24 September 2005.

• Iran Nuclear Deal: Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

• Press release, International Atomic Energy Agency.

• Press release, White House.