Relationship between US and Iran

By: Masood Hussain Geffery

Here are some key points about the relationship between the U.S. and Iran ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵:

• Since 1980, the United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations.
• Iran and the United States have a tumultuous history, including the CIA-backed coup in Iran in 1953, the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 and the U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
• The United States attributes the worsening of relations to the Iran hostage crisis, human rights abuses, Iran’s anti-Western ideology and its nuclear program.
• Iran has said that the natural conflict between the Islamic system and the oppressive power of the U.S. is to blame for the poor relationship, as well as U.S. support for Israel.
• In 2015, the United States led successful negotiations for a nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which placed substantial limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
• In 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions, initiating the “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran.