From Donald Trump to Joe Biden: The Adjustment and Continuation of U.S. Policy on Irans Nuclear Program

Abstract

This paper is targeted at the policies and adjustments of the United States against the nuclear program of Iran during the administration of Donald Trump and Joe Biden and attempts to analyze the reasons and motivations. After the Trump administration took office, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and implemented an all-round suppression of Iran. On the contrary, President Biden has shown a strong willingness to rejoin the deal and released goodwill to Iran frequently. Bidens policy seems to be significantly different from that of Trump, but it does not deviate from the framework of the Trump administration. This paper explores the foreign policies of the two governments towards Iran through three levels of analysis and uses cognitive psychology to analyze the influence of Trump's personal factors on his policies. It concludes that Trump's policies on Iran nuclear issue during his administration are mainly affected by his political personality and national security environment, while Biden's strategic adjustment to the foreign policy is more influenced by political pressure at home and abroad besides national security.