Reassessing US Policy Toward Iran

Abstract

Abstract : See attached file. The purpose of this paper is to review the importance of Iran to US national security interests, review past and current US policy toward Iran, outline options for future US Iran policy, and recommend a course of action. Given Iran's strategic geopolitical location, its high education and literacy rates, and the growing desire of Iran's people for representative democracy, it is critical that the US craft a realistic, comprehensive policy toward Iran. Iran has concerned the US due to its support for terrorist organizations, its efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, its attempts to export the Islamic Revolution (and subvert US friends in the region), and its efforts to undermine the Mid-East peace process. Consequently, since the fall of the Shah, US policy has focused on trying to modify Iranian behavior that the US finds intolerable. Despite 20 years of US sanctions and attempts to isolate Iran diplomatically, Iran perseveres. The current climate in the Middle East may now be propitious for making progress on Iran. Due to the hawkish American post-9/11 mindset, President George W. Bush's inclusion of Iran in the Axis-of-Evil, the US invasion of Afghanistan, America's expressed willingness to take unilateral action, and the nearly complete US military encirclement of Iran, Iran has expressed its fear of the US and implicitly shown willingness to yield to what it views as a credible threat to its survival. The new US National Security Strategy and the US invasion of Iraq now provide a unique opportunity for the US to do so in pursuit of critical national interests. Some in the U.S. advocate adopting a hard line; isolating Iran economically and politically. Others advocate constructive engagement. The current situation, however, may call for a mixed approach, combining hard-line measures with constructive engagement.