The Iranian Perspective on the US Presidential Election of 2008

Abstract

Along with the Bush administration, all of the major prospective candidates for the American presidential race in November 2008 characterized Iran as the major threat to US interests in the Middle East. US presidents since Jimmy Carter, during whose presidency relations with Iran were severed, have viewed Iran as the main obstacle to peaceful order in the region. US policy toward Iran has been one of containment in the region and isolation internationally. Since the death of the first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, there have been various opportunities to reestablish diplomatic relations. However, these have been thwarted by hardliners on both sides. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush refused to take steps toward any diplomatic engagement without prior basic changes in Iranian policy. Any breakthrough in US-Iran relations may benefit both countries, as Iran’s economy continues to suffer from years of economic sanctions, while the United States could rely on Iran to play a constructive role in Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore, the 2008 US presidential election was of interest to Iranians, to the extent that the presidential candidates of the two major parties approached US-Iran relations differently.