{"id":2982,"date":"2020-01-16T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/u-s-and-iran-have-a-long-troubled-history\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T17:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T01:46:20","slug":"united-states-iran-troubled-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/united-states-iran-troubled-history\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. and Iran have a long, troubled history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3149-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3149-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3149-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"U.S. and Iran have a long, troubled history\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Writing for The Conversation, USC Dornsife\u2019s Jeffrey Fields, associate professor of the practice of international relations, notes key events in the tumultuous relationship between a major Middle East nation and the U.S. (Image Source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>U.S. and Iran have a long, troubled history<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  In the wake of recent missile attacks, Jeffrey Fields of international relations describes the decades-long tense relationship between the United States and Iran. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Jeffrey Fields<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">January 16, 2020<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Relations between the United States and Iran have been fraught for decades \u2013 at least since the U.S. helped overthrow a democracy-minded prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, in August 1953. The U.S. then supported the long, repressive reign of the shah of Iran, whose security services brutalized Iranian citizens for decades.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"KMqX1\" class=\"tc-infographic-datawrapper\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/KMqX1\/1\/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"400px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The two countries have been particularly hostile to each other since Iranian students took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979, resulting in, among other consequences, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/iran-sanctions\/\">economic sanctions<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-countries-in-conflict-like-iran-and-the-us-still-talk-to-each-other-129591\">severing of formal diplomatic relations<\/a> between the nations. Since 1984, the U.S. State Department has listed Iran as a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/state-sponsors-of-terrorism\/\">state sponsor of terrorism<\/a>,\u201d alleging the Iranian government provides terrorists with <a href=\"https:\/\/2009-2017.state.gov\/j\/ct\/rls\/crt\/2013\/224826.htm\">training, money and weapons<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the major events in U.S.-Iran relations highlight the differences between the nations\u2019 views, but others arguably presented real opportunities for reconciliation.<\/p>\n<h2>1953: US overthows Mossadegh<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 252px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=825&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=825&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=825&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1037&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1037&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310082\/original\/file-20200114-151825-1buge0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1037&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Photo of Mohammed Mossadegh.\" width=\"252\" height=\"346\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo of Mohammed Mossadegh. (Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 1951, the Iranian Parliament chose a new prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, who then led lawmakers to vote in favor of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/bp-and-iran-the-forgotten-history\">taking over the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company<\/a>, expelling the company\u2019s British owners and saying they wanted to turn oil profits into investments in the Iranian people. The U.S. feared disruption in the global oil supply and worried about Iran falling prey to Soviet influence. The British feared the loss of cheap Iranian oil.<\/p>\n<p>Unable to settle the dispute, President Dwight Eisenhower decided it was best for the U.S. and the U.K. to get rid of Mossadegh. Operation Ajax, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2000\/04\/16\/world\/secrets-history-cia-iran-special-report-plot-convulsed-iran-53-79.html\">a joint CIA-British operation<\/a>, convinced the shah of Iran, the country\u2019s monarch, to dismiss Mossadegh and drive him from office by force. Mossadegh was replaced by a much more Western-friendly prime minister, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.nytimes.com\/www.nytimes.com\/library\/world\/mideast\/041600iran-cia-index.html?_r=0\">hand-picked by the CIA<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>1979: Revolutionaries oust the shah, take hostages<\/h2>\n<p>After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theperspective.com\/subjective-timeline\/politics\/us-iran-relations-ww2-hostage-crisis\/\">more than 25 years<\/a> of relative stability in U.S.-Iran relations, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/iran-politics-revolution\/29752729.html\">Iranian public had grown unhappy<\/a> with the social and economic conditions that developed under the dictatorial rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.<\/p>\n<p>Pahlavi enriched himself and used American aid to fund the military while many Iranians lived in poverty. Dissent was often violently quashed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1977\/05\/09\/savak-a-feared-and-pervasive-force\/ad609959-d47b-4b7f-8c8d-b388116df90c\/\">SAVAK, the shah\u2019s security service<\/a>. In January 1979, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/343d87fdb960424e9ec0f4a90dc64fcb\">the shah left Iran<\/a>, ostensibly to seek cancer treatment. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/ayatollah-khomeini-returns-to-iran\">Two weeks later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile<\/a> in Iraq and led a drive to abolish the monarchy and proclaim an Islamic government.<\/p>\n<p>In October 1979, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1981\/05\/17\/magazine\/why-carter-admitted-the-shah.html\">President Jimmy Carter agreed to allow the shah<\/a> to come to the U.S. to seek advanced medical treatment. Outraged Iranian students <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1979\/11\/05\/archives\/teheran-students-seize-us-embassy-and-hold-hostages-ask-shahs.html\">stormed the U.S. Embassy<\/a> in Tehran on Nov. 4, taking 52 Americans hostage. That convinced Carter to sever U.S. diplomatic relations with Iran on April 7, 1980.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks later, the U.S. military launched a mission to rescue the hostages, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2006\/05\/the-desert-one-debacle\/304803\/\">it failed, with aircraft crashes in the Iranian desert<\/a> killing eight U.S. servicemembers.<\/p>\n<p>The shah died in Egypt in July 1980, but the hostages weren\u2019t released until Jan. 20, 1981, after 444 days of captivity.<\/p>\n<h2>1980-1988: US tacitly sides with Iraq<\/h2>\n<p>In September 1980, <a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/middle_east\/4260420.stm\">Iraq invaded Iran<\/a>, an escalation of the two countries\u2019 regional rivalry and religious differences: Iraq was governed by Sunni Muslims but had a Shia Muslim majority population; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2014\/06\/18\/the-sunni-shia-divide-where-they-live-what-they-believe-and-how-they-view-each-other\/\">Iran was led and populated mostly by Shiites<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. was concerned that the conflict would limit the flow of Middle Eastern oil and wanted to ensure the conflict didn\u2019t affect its close ally, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2013\/08\/26\/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-helped-saddam-as-he-gassed-iran\/\">supported Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein<\/a> in his fight against the anti-American Iranian regime. As a result, the U.S. mostly turned a blind eye toward Iraq\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nsarchive2.gwu.edu\/NSAEBB\/NSAEBB82\/iraq24.pdf\">\u201calmost daily\u201d use of chemical weapons<\/a> against Iran.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. officials moderated their usual opposition to those illegal and inhumane weapons because the U.S. State Department did not \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/nsarchive2.gwu.edu\/NSAEBB\/NSAEBB82\/iraq25.pdf\">wish to play into Iran\u2019s hands<\/a> by fueling its propaganda against Iraq.\u201d In 1988, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/middle-east\/iran-iraq-war\">the war ended in a stalemate<\/a>, with a combined total of more than 500,000 military deaths and 100,000 civilians dead on both sides.<\/p>\n<h2>1981-1986: US secretly sells weapons to Iran<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.belfercenter.org\/sites\/default\/files\/files\/publication\/Iran%20Sanctions.pdf\">imposed an arms embargo<\/a> after Iran was designated a state sponsor terrorism in 1984. That left the Iranian military, in the middle of its war with Iraq, desperate for weapons and aircraft and vehicle parts to keep fighting.<\/p>\n<p>The Reagan administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1991\/12\/08\/world\/iran-pipeline-hidden-chapter-special-report-us-said-have-allowed-israel-sell.html\">decided that the embargo would likely push Iran<\/a> to seek support from the Soviet Union, the U.S.\u2018s rival in the Cold War. Rather than formally ending the embargo, U.S. officials agreed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1991\/12\/08\/world\/iran-pipeline-hidden-chapter-special-report-us-said-have-allowed-israel-sell.html\">secretly sell weapons to Iran<\/a> starting in 1981. Later, the transactions were justified as incentives to help Iran persuade militants to release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1988\/11\/27\/books\/arms-for-hostages-plain-and-simple.html\">U.S. hostages being held in Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The last shipment, of anti-tank missiles, was in October 1986. In November of that year, a Lebanese magazine exposed the deal. That revelation sparked the Iran-Contra scandal in the U.S., in which Reagan\u2019s officials were found to have collected money from Iran for the weapons, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1987\/07\/10\/world\/iran-contra-hearings-boland-amendments-what-they-provided.html\">illegally sent those funds to anti-socialist rebels<\/a> \u2013 the Contras \u2013 in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n<h2>1988: US Navy shoots down Iran Air flight 655<\/h2>\n<p>On the morning of July 8, 1988, the USS Vincennes, a guided missile cruiser patrolling in the international waters of the Persian Gulf, <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2014\/07\/the-vincennes-downing-of-iran-air-flight-655-the-united-states-tried-to-cover-up-its-own-destruction-of-a-passenger-plane.html\">entered Iranian territorial waters<\/a> while in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/10\/middleeast\/iran-air-flight-655-us-military-intl-hnk\/index.html\">skirmish with Iranian gunboats<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Either during or just after that exchange of gunfire, the Vincennes crew mistook a passing civilian Airbus passenger jet for an Iranian F-14 fighter. They shot it down, killing all 290 people aboard.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. called it a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jag.navy.mil\/library\/investigations\/VINCENNES%20INV.pdf\">tragic and regrettable accident<\/a>,\u201d but Iran believed the plane\u2019s downing was intentional. In 1996, the U.S. agreed to pay US$131.8 million in compensation to Iran.<\/p>\n<h2>1997-1998: The US seeks contact<\/h2>\n<p>In August 1997, a moderate reformer, Mohammad Khatami, won Iran\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. President Bill Clinton sensed an opportunity for improved relations between the two countries. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-srv\/inatl\/longterm\/iran\/stories\/iran010998.htm\">sent a message to Tehran<\/a> through the Swiss ambassador there, proposing direct government-to-government talks.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly thereafter, in early January 1998, Khatami gave an interview to CNN in which he expressed \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/WORLD\/9801\/07\/iran\/interview.html\">respect for the great American people<\/a>,\u201d denounced terrorism and recommended an \u201cexchange of professors, writers, scholars, artists, journalists and tourists\u201d between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n<p>However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei didn\u2019t agree, so not much came of the mutual overtures as Clinton\u2019s time in office came to an end. In 2000, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright spoke to the U.S.-based American-Iranian Council and <a href=\"https:\/\/1997-2001.state.gov\/statements\/2000\/000317.html\">acknowledged the government\u2019s role in the 1953 ouster of Mossadegh<\/a>, but punctuated her remarks with criticism of Iranian domestic politics.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 388px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=501&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=501&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310088\/original\/file-20200114-93792-nwnm70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=501&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Photo of George Bush standing at microphone in front of American flag. Dick Cheney sits behind him to the left. \" width=\"388\" height=\"258\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President George W. Bush delivers the 2002 State of the Union address. (Photo courtesy: Eric Draper\/White House\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-srv\/onpolitics\/transcripts\/sou012902.htm\">2002 State of the Union address<\/a>, President George W. Bush characterized Iran, Iraq and North Korea as constituting an \u201cAxis of Evil\u201d supporting terrorism and pursuing weapons of mass destruction, straining relations even further.<\/p>\n<h2>2002: Iran\u2019s nuclear program raises alarm<\/h2>\n<p>In August 2002, an exiled rebel group announced that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iranwatch.org\/library\/international-organization\/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea\/other-iaea-document\/irans-nuclear-power-profile-iaea\">Iran had been secretly working on nuclear weapons<\/a> at two installations that had not previously been publicly revealed.<\/p>\n<p>That was a violation of the terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armscontrol.org\/factsheets\/nptfact\">the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty<\/a>, which Iran had signed, requiring countries to disclose their nuclear-related facilities to international inspectors.<\/p>\n<p>One of those formerly secret locations, Natanz, housed centrifuges for enriching uranium, which could be used in civilian nuclear reactors or enriched further for weapons.<\/p>\n<p>Starting in roughly 2005, U.S. and Israeli government cyberattackers together reportedly targeted the Natanz centrifuges with a custom-made piece of malicious software that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/01\/16\/world\/middleeast\/16stuxnet.html\">became known as Stuxnet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That effort, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/Iranian-Threat\/News\/Stuxnet-virus-set-back-Irans-nuclear-program-by-2-years\">slowed down Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/06\/01\/world\/middleeast\/obama-ordered-wave-of-cyberattacks-against-iran.html\">one of many U.S. and international attempts<\/a> \u2013 mostly unsuccessful in the long term \u2013 to curtail Iran\u2019s progress toward building a nuclear bomb.<\/p>\n<h2>2003: Iran writes to Bush administration<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 418px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=350&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=350&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=350&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310090\/original\/file-20200114-151887-y4iwpm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"An image of a document sent from Iran to the US via the Swiss government, seeking talks. \" width=\"418\" height=\"244\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An excerpt of the document sent from Iran, via the Swiss government, to the U.S. State Department in 2003, appears to seek talks between the U.S. and Iran. (Image Courtesy: Washington Post via Scribd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In May 2003, senior Iranian officials <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mideastweb.org\/log\/archives\/00000467.htm\">quietly contacted the State Department<\/a> through the Swiss embassy in Iran, seeking \u201ca dialogue &#8216;in mutual respect,\u2019\u201d addressing four big issues: nuclear weapons, terrorism, Palestinian resistance and stability in Iraq.<\/p>\n<p>Hardliners in the Bush administration <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/ABCNews19781979\/Libya-FT-1990-to-2007-c.txt\">weren\u2019t interested in any major reconciliation<\/a>, though Secretary of State Colin Powell favored dialogue and other officials had met with Iran about al-Qaida.<\/p>\n<p>When Iranian hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran in 2005, the opportunity died. The following year, <a href=\"http:\/\/mideastweb.org\/ahmadinejad_letter_to_bush.htm\">Ahmadinejad made his own overture to Washington<\/a> in an 18-page letter to President Bush. The letter was widely dismissed; a senior State Department official told <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1006509\">me<\/a> in profane terms that it amounted to nothing.<\/p>\n<h2>2015: Iran nuclear deal signed<\/h2>\n<p>After a decade of unsuccessful attempts to rein in Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions, the Obama administration undertook a direct diplomatic approach beginning in 2013.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/04\/04\/world\/middleeast\/an-iran-nuclear-deal-built-on-coffee-all-nighters-and-compromise.html\">Two years of secret, direct negotiations<\/a> initially bilaterally between the U.S. and Iran and later with other nuclear powers culminated in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armscontrol.org\/factsheets\/JCPOA-at-a-glance\">Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action<\/a>, commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n<p>The deal was signed by Iran, the U.S., China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom in 2015. It severely limited Iran\u2019s capacity to enrich uranium and mandated that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armscontrol.org\/factsheets\/JCPOA-at-a-glance\">international inspectors monitor and enforce Iran\u2019s compliance<\/a> with the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>In return, Iran was granted relief from international and U.S. economic sanctions. Though the inspectors regularly certified that Iran was abiding by the agreement\u2019s terms, in May 2018 President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 471px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=325&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=325&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=325&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=409&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=409&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/310091\/original\/file-20200114-151829-5e9mj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=409&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Photo of global leaders from China, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, standing in front of their respective flags. \" width=\"471\" height=\"255\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Representatives of several nations met in Vienna in July 2015 to finalize the Iran nuclear deal. (Photo Courtesy: Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>2020: US drones kill Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani<\/h2>\n<p>On Jan. 3, 2020, on the orders of President Trump, an American drone fired a missile that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, leader of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/who-are-iran-s-secretive-quds-forces-n1110156\">Iran\u2019s elite Quds Force<\/a>, as he prepared to leave the Baghdad airport. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2020\/01\/qassem-soleimani-iran-elite-quds-force-leader-200103033905377.html\">Soleimani is described<\/a> by analysts as the second most powerful man in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, the Trump administration asserted that he was directing an imminent attack against U.S. assets in the region, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/12\/us\/politics\/trump-suleimani-explanations.html\">officials have not provided clear evidence<\/a> to support that claim.<\/p>\n<p>Iran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/07\/world\/middleeast\/iran-fires-missiles-us.html\">responded by launching ballistic missiles<\/a> that hit two American bases in Iraq. As Iran entered a heightened state of alert, preparing for a possible U.S. retaliation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/10\/world\/middleeast\/missile-iran-plane-crash.html\">it accidentally shot down<\/a> a commercial Ukrainian airliner departing Tehran for Kyiv, killing all 176 people aboard.<\/p>\n<p>[ <em>Insight, in your inbox each day.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us\/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=insight\">You can get it with The Conversation\u2019s email newsletter<\/a>. ]<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/129844\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jeffrey-fields-282008\">Jeffrey Fields<\/a>, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Relations, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-southern-california-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\">University of Southern California \u2013 Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us-and-iran-have-a-long-troubled-history-129844\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-happens-next-in-us-iran-relations\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What happens next in US-Iran relations will be informed by the two countries\u2019 shared\u00a0history<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/israel-bombed-an-iraqi-nuclear-reactor-and-pushed-program-underground\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 \u2212 it pushed program underground and spurred Saddam Hussein\u2019s desire for\u00a0nukes<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-shows-limits-of-us-influence-trump-unpredictable-impact\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Israel-Hamas deal shows limits of US influence \u2013 and the unpredictable impact of\u00a0Trump<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the wake of recent missile attacks, Jeffrey Fields of international relations describes the decades-long tense relationship between the United States and Iran. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":2985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[85,135,649,83],"class_list":["post-2982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dornsife-global","category-faculty","tag-international-relations","tag-iran","tag-middle-east","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>U.S. and Iran have a long, troubled history<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jeffrey Fields of international relations describes the decades-long tense relationship between the United States and Iran. [4 min read]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/united-states-iran-troubled-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. and Iran have a long, troubled history\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jeffrey Fields of international relations describes the decades-long tense relationship between the United States and Iran. 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