Iran’s relationship with the United States: An estranged friend to an ‘arrogant’ power

In November 3, 2025, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered his yearly code connected the eve of what Iran presumption the ‘National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance’, which marks 3 important junctures successful Iran’s past – Ayatollah Khomeini’s exile by Reza Shah Pahlavi successful 1964, the Pahlavi forces’ sidesplitting of pupil protestors astatine the University of Tehran successful 1978, and (most importantly) the seizure of the U.S. Embassy successful Tehran by students proclaiming loyalty to Khomeini successful 1979. Mr. Khamenei’s code focused connected an aged effort — to consistently re-legitimise the Embassy takeover and reenforce a revisionist past of the lawsuit successful the Iranian fashionable imagination. However, a cardinal diagnostic of Mr. Khamenei’s 2025 code is his statement of arrogance oregon ‘istikbar’ successful government. He enactment distant a two-pillared description:

“‘Istikbar’ (is) self-perceived superiority is of 2 kinds. One is erstwhile a idiosyncratic oregon a authorities considers itself to beryllium superior to others but doesn’t interfere with them. This inactive isn’t a bully characteristic. Conceit isn’t a bully thing, but it doesn’t make enmity oregon hostility. It’s simply a atrocious trait to have. However, determination whitethorn beryllium a clip erstwhile a government, a person, a group, oregon an aggressor considers itself to beryllium superior to others and grants itself the close to propulsion others around, to encroach upon the captious interests of others, and to dictate presumption to others. Arrogance successful this signifier is bad.

A authorities — for instance, it was the British authorities successful 1 era, and it’s the U.S. contiguous — grants itself the close to establish, for example, 10 subject bases successful a definite state that lacks a beardown authorities oregon an alert populace, to make facilities for itself, to instrumentality their oil, to prehend their interests, and to plunder their underground resources. This is ‘Istikbar’. This is the Arrogance we entity to, the Arrogance we talk about, and the Arrogance we chant slogans against.”

This nonfiction is from The Hindu e-book. Iran: Revolution successful retreat

Mr. Khamenei’s contiguous intent is arguably to guarantee nationalist unity successful a federation inactive reeling from an unprecedented associated U.S.-Israeli bombardment for 12 days successful June. However, his statement of ‘istikbar’ tin beryllium appropriated for a much nonsubjective speechmaking of Iran’s rivalry with the United States and 1 that is acold little convenient for a Supreme Leader to admit from the pulpit. This pertains to the information Iran’s existent grievance with the U.S. is not Iran’s aversion to the U.S.’s inherent arrogance (in Tehran’s view), but alternatively Washington’s stark inconsistency successful its attack to Tehran, swinging betwixt practice and engagement to hostility and confrontation.

For an Islamic Republic that publically lambasts the U.S. arsenic the ‘Great Satan’, whenever the U.S. pendulum has swung towards engagement, Tehran has ne'er categorically refused but cautiously reciprocated. Arguably, for Iran, periods of U.S. engagement bespeak Tehran’s occurrence successful making an arrogant powerfulness measurement down from a disrespectful pedestal. Hence, engagement is portion of (and not an objection to) Tehran’s efforts astatine preventing the United States from threatening the regime.

Whenever practice has fixed mode to overt hostility from Washington, Tehran’s leaders person invariably cried vindication of the Republic’s characterisation of the U.S. arsenic an arrogant imperial power, but it has ne'er prevented Tehran from engaging Washington again, contempt the latter’s volte look astatine aggregate points since 1979. However, specified a response/ absorption is portion of the aforesaid duality – to contiguous some engagement and estrangement arsenic portion of Tehran’s design.

In functional terms, this duality successful the U.S.-Iran relationship has usually been triggered by the different, and often divergent, approaches that aggregate U.S. Presidents (usually successive) person followed towards Tehran — from Dwight Eisenhower succeeding Harry Truman, done Ronald Reagan succeeding Jimmy Carter, to Donald Trump succeeding Barack Obama (and past Joe Biden). This duality of Iran’s experience, which cumulatively reinforces its presumption of U.S. arrogance, is outlined beneath done selective developments successful Iran-U.S. relations, earlier and aft its 1979 Islamic revolution.

It is imperative to note, however, that portion Iran’s narration with the United States became structurally hostile post-1979, Tehran’s intent and quality to prosecute positively with Washington has invariably been motivated by 1 halfway logic — authorities preservation. Again, functionally, this logic is multi-pillared and has been guided done geopolitical necessities, home economical compulsions, and an appraisal of threats to nationalist security.

The Policeman of the Persian Gulf

The Iranian radical and Iran’s governmental and subject leaders person a agelong consciousness of history. Regardless of the authorities they represent, their outlook towards the United States and their overseas argumentation priorities, modern Iran’s leaders (especially pursuing its Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1911) person consistently mourned Iran’s humanities vulnerability to overseas powers and the latter’s predominant assemblage exploitation of Iran’s geography and its resources. This includes respective events, stretching from 1907 erstwhile the Anglo-Russian Convention efficaciously partitioned Iran into British and Russian spheres of influence, and past successful 1941 erstwhile Russian, American, and British troops invaded Iran aft accusing Reza Shah (the archetypal Pahlavi King) of hosting Nazi officers. Reza Shah himself, portion propelled to powerfulness done British and American support, nursed specified grievances, specified arsenic erstwhile helium signed a 30-year hold connected Iranian lipid concessions to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, with paltry profits for Iran successful 1933.

His son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (hereinafter the Shah), arguably held a akin outlook, with the quality being that, compared to his father, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi inherited antithetic geopolitical circumstances and was much apt astatine leveraging a concern with the United States to consolidate Iranian power, adjacent arsenic helium granted the concessions that were a precedence to Washington.

Among the Shah’s aboriginal tests successful powerfulness was his contention with the firebrand, fiercely nationalistic, Mohammed Mosaddegh, elected arsenic Prime Minister successful 1951. Mosaddegh’s determination to nationalise Iranian lipid and extremity the existing severely lopsided statement that lent the lion’s stock of profits to the United Kingdom had spurred a beardown British effort to region Mosaddegh from powerfulness and enactment successful spot a caller architecture successful powerfulness successful Iran, which further empowered the Shah. However, British efforts (especially done Winston Churchill arsenic premier) to lobby the United States successful enactment of this effort remained categorically unsuccessful arsenic agelong arsenic Harry Truman held the U.S. Presidency. Even arsenic Truman was sympathetic to British concerns, helium was resolutely against the MI6’s interventionist advocacy, which helium viewed arsenic a profoundly assemblage task for a dying imperial power. In fact, Mosaddegh relied connected Truman’s pragmatic presumption to prosecute successful dialog with the U.S., to gully Washington’s enactment for Iran’s concerns. Even arsenic his celebrated 1951 gathering with Truman successful Blair House yielded small for the Iranian Prime Minister, Truman’s anti-imperial credentials evidently earned him greater spot successful Iran. It was his successor, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s determination to greenlight Operation Ajax to technologist a CIA-MI6- led coup against Mosaddegh successful 1953, which marked a watershed successful Iran-U.S. ties (and for the United States too, for whom Iran 1953 represented the archetypal palmy cognition to covertly unit authorities alteration abroad).

Note that successful present-day Iran, Mr. Khamenei and the Islamic Republic’s clerical constitution eulogise Mosaddegh’s forced removal arsenic among the archetypal modern examples of American ‘istikbar’, but they consistently denounce Mosaddegh’s ain crook to Washington for enactment arsenic his error, and frankincense de-legitimise Mosaddegh’s close appraisal of Truman’s presumption for what it was worth. Eisenhower’s decision, too, was owed to a tactful alteration successful the British logic — making a lawsuit that presented Mosaddegh arsenic a communist threat, alternatively than frontloading lipid concerns.

Between 1953 and 1978, with the Shah’s home presumption unafraid (and Mosaddegh’s premier ministerial successors being good integrated with the Palace), Tehran and Washington embarked connected a cooperative statement that arguably eclipsed respective different bilateral partnerships, successful its extent and expanse. By 1959, the Shah signed a bilateral defence practice statement with the United States, and adjacent arsenic helium signed a Non-Aggression Pact with the USSR to placate Soviet concerns, helium allowed American listening posts on the Iranian borderline with Russia. By 1964, with U.S.-Iran practice particularly deepening nether the premiership of Hassan Ali Mansur, Iran and the United States agreed connected a Status of Forces Agreement, providing ineligible immunity to U.S. troops successful Iran, and Tehran received a $200 cardinal indebtedness from the U.S. to acquisition American weapons.

By the 1970s, the United States implemented its ‘Twin Pillars’ argumentation successful the Middle East to trust connected Saudi Arabia and Iran for the information of vigor proviso lines. While Washington remained bogged down successful Vietnam, Mohammed Reza Shah was unarguably the U.S.’s preferred spouse successful the Gulf. Between 1970 and 1978, Iran emerged arsenic the largest importer of American arms, accounting for 25% of each American overseas subject income successful those years, which resulted successful a lightning-fast subject build-up that established Iran arsenic the world’s 5th largest subject power. Economically, too, the United States remained a important spouse to Iran, with some states signing an economical statement worthy $15 cardinal successful 1975.

This resulted successful 2 important characteristics of the Shah’s regularisation — increasing assertiveness and powerfulness projection overseas (through interventions successful Yemen, Oman, and Iraq) and expanding authoritarianism astatine home. The Shah arguably realised Iran’s value arsenic the ‘Policeman of the Persian Gulf’, erstwhile helium successfully lobbied the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to importantly summation crude prices successful 1968, which resulted successful mammoth economical dividends for the Iranian treasury.

Arguably, adjacent arsenic helium readily gave successful to American needs, the Shah was ever cognisant of the request to support Iran from allegations of being a U.S. puppet, and gambling that a heavy concern with Washington and authoritarianism astatine location would beryllium forgiven domestically arsenic indispensable to re-establish Iran’s nationalist powerfulness and alteration it to assertion planetary leadership. Naturally, absorption forces astatine location (which included a motley premix of Islamist clerics, Mosaddegh-era nationalists, and pro-Soviet leftists) blamed some the Shah arsenic good arsenic the United States (which helped make the Shah’s infamous SAVAK successful 1957) for the clampdown connected antiauthoritarian freedoms. Hence, adjacent aft his ain expulsion from Iran successful 1964, Ruhollah Khomeini’s web successful Iran yet assassinated respective salient figures they deemed liable for the Shah’s empowerment by the U.S. – specified arsenic Hassan Ali Mansur (killed successful 1965). A testament to the value of this assassination was erstwhile those progressive garnered favourable positions successful the post-1979 government.

However, it is besides categorically existent that astatine important junctures of the opposition’s consolidation successful Iran, it is the United States which forced the Shah’s manus towards much wide policy-making astatine home. Most prominently, the Jimmy Carter administration’s beardown insistence connected a wide quality rights argumentation pushed the Shah to assistance cardinal concessions astatine location and to code down his ‘autocratic democracy’. It is this acceptable of concessions, including amnesty to governmental prisoners, property freedoms, halting (on paper) torture of dissidents by the SAVAK, and a committedness to escaped and just elections to Parliament, which empowered and enabled Khomeini’s networks wrong Tehran to consolidate and expand. To beryllium clear, Carter’s policies did not connote receding U.S. subject and economical enactment to Tehran, but alternatively a disinclination to overtly assistance the Shah’s home authoritarianism. Carter’s ain medication harboured suspicions of the Shah’s increasing assertiveness some successful the portion and outside, generating a request to rein in, but not shun, an important partner. Ultimately, it is the Shah’s ain vacillations that led to a climactic surge successful fashionable demonstrations, which yet ousted him successful the acold January wintertime of 1979.

The fount of anti-U.S. hostility

The February 1979 revolution, which brought Ruhollah Khomeini backmost to Tehran with celebratory fanfare, did not by immoderate means connote an instantly antagonistic Iranian narration with the United States by default. It is undoubtedly existent that the Iranian absorption and the radical rallying down it often clashed with the 45,000-odd American colonisation successful Iran, anterior to 1979, and the clerical leaders successful Khomeini’s caller Islamic Republican Party did harbour heavy anti-Western sentiments.

However, the February gyration did not bring a theocratic authorities to power, and the Mehdi Bazargan-led interim administration, though blessed by Khomeini, was packed with Western-educated nationalists drafting inspiration from the Mosaddegh-era. In fact, Khomeini’s aboriginal attack to the United States was considerably motivated by post- revolutionary paranoia, particularly pertaining to the Iranian equipped forces. The American-trained Iranian subject (and particularly its aerial force) posed an existential threat, which needed to beryllium nipped successful the bud to forestall it from counter-revolutionary activities. In a spot of a Catch-22, to forestall this, Khomeini had to engage, and not confront, the United States, adjacent empowering aboriginal Foreign Minister Ebrahim Yazdi to covertly prosecute successful backchannel talks with the Americans to forestall Washington from enabling a subject revolt. Khomeini highlighted that hostile subject actions by the Iranian equipped forces could endanger not conscionable Iranians, but besides the American colonisation successful Iran (through reprisals). Moreover, arsenic governmental idiosyncratic Mohsen Milani besides notes, erstwhile Marxist forces archetypal attempted a takeover of the U.S. Embassy successful February, Khomeini categorically expressed his disapproval, starring the mob to vacate the diplomatic compound.

Bazargan himself sought to embark connected a much balanced overseas policy, with “No East, No West” arsenic its slogan, and explicitly stated that Iran would not play the relation of the U.S.’s policeman successful the Persian Gulf immoderate longer. However, helium continued to asseverate the request for a affirmative narration with the United States and the necessity to clasp U.S. subject advisors successful the state (even arsenic helium committed to reducing the import of U.S. weaponry). Arguably, during the abbreviated beingness of the interim administration, Khomeini was inactive successful hunt of elements that would assistance warrant theocratic rule, and was successful the process of erecting a caller paramilitary drawn from section mosque- centred militias nether the power of myriad clerical establishments; this would aboriginal go the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Apart from the U.S. determination to admit the deposed Shah into the United States for aesculapian treatment, it was the 2nd takeover of the U.S. Embassy successful November by students who called themselves the ‘Followers of the Imam’s (Khomeini’s) Line’ that allowed Khomeini to categorise it arsenic an integrated Iranian look of anti-Americanism, which necessitated a much theocratic authorities to springiness meaning to the February revolution. In immoderate case, Bazargan resigned implicit his ineffectiveness to support the Embassy, and the interim authorities collapsed connected November 6.

While the Embassy siege is often characterised arsenic the cardinal break, Khomeini’s motivations were evidently arsenic domestic, with the caller Wali-e- Faqi (Supreme Jurist) needing an anchor for interior consolidation, arsenic it was international. Nonetheless, each American practice with Iran crushed to a halt, and Khomeini famously characterised the United States arsenic the ‘Great Satan’ (with Israel being labelled Little Satan) for the archetypal clip connected November 5, 1979.

Iran’s modern leaders, including Mr. Khamenei, proceed to leverage the Iranian people’s lament of the 1953 coup arsenic the archetypal American sin. However, they people absorption wholly connected the Carter administration’s admittance of the Shah and formed it arsenic grounds of American intentions successful 1979 to repetition 1953. It is different substance that determination is negligible impervious of a Carter-blessed U.S. crippled to overthrow the revolutionary authorities successful February; rather, the Carter White House adjacent extensively engaged Ayatollah Khomeini.

This crisp interruption successful U.S.-Iran ties unarguably acceptable the signifier for a hard way ahead, with Iran pivoting from a reliable U.S. state whose ambitions needed tempering and controlling, to a hostile adversary that necessitated confrontation and curtailment. However, Iranian leaders arguably did not bask capable breathing abstraction to deliberately trade a caller strategy vis-à- vis the United States successful the contiguous years aft the revolution. The Iraqi penetration of Iran successful 1980 brought Iranian attraction backmost to preserving the nascent revolutionary regime, this clip from an outer threat.

A elaborate statement of that protracted and bloody warfare is not wrong the remit of this essay. However, it is capable to enactment that the U.S. posture toward the Iran-Iraq War was replete with inconsistency, with the U.S. mostly staying distant from the warfare (except successful its waning years). Although U.S. argumentation was marked by an wide tilt towards Iraq successful worldly support, incidents specified arsenic the Iran-Contra Affair, erstwhile the Ronald Reagan medication bypassed U.S. lawmaking institutions to covertly merchantability arms to Iran betwixt 1981 and 1986, to money the anti-Sandinista (Contra) rebels successful Nicaragua, bespeak U.S. duality. It was lone by 1987 that the U.S. began actively involving itself successful the war, done Operation Earnest Will, to support merchant and vigor shipping successful the Persian Gulf from Iranian (and Iraqi) attacks during what became known arsenic the ‘Tanker War’.

By 1989, Iran emerged victorious successful the 10-year-long war, lone successful truthful acold arsenic preventing Iraq from reaching its strategical nonsubjective of toppling the revolutionary authorities successful Iran was concerned, but astatine an immense outgo successful men, women, and material. However, this warfare besides yielded a procreation of Iranian leaders (especially from the IRGC) who were bound firmly by fraternal ties and the communal acquisition of safeguarding the federation from an aggressor. Indeed, the Iran-Iraq warfare acted arsenic a terrific magnetic unit for nationalistic consolidation and fashionable enactment for the Islamic Republic’s effort to repel Saddam Hussein’s aggrandising efforts.

This 10-year-long pro-revolution ‘moment’ was utilized extensively successful the pursuing decade, for the authorities to consolidate and grow its caller overseas policy. At its heart, the institutions that this warfare birthed (such arsenic the Quds Force, with Quds meaning Jerusalem) represented a caller universalist logic that inherently shunned nationalism and focused connected the Islamic Ummah. Few different ocular signifiers are grounds of this logic than the IRGC overgarment of arms, which does not diagnostic a representation of Iran but of the globe. In fact, Tehran acted aboriginal to works the seeds of Shia consolidation (ostensibly characterised arsenic liberation/revolutionary movements) successful respective states, specified arsenic done the Supreme Council for Islamic gyration successful Iraq (SCIRI, 1982), the Islamic Resistance successful Lebanon which aboriginal became Hezbollah (1982), the Islamic Unity Party successful Afghanistan (1989), and the Ansar Allah successful Yemen (or the Houthis, 1992). While Iran helped make immoderate of these groups, it nourished and supported others. This caller mode of determination powerfulness projection done proxy was not wholly a menace to the United States. However, the actions of immoderate — specified arsenic Imad Mughniyeh of Hezbollah — presented contiguous threats to the United States, arsenic was evidenced by Hezbollah’s 1983 Beirut bombings of U.S. subject barracks and the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

Inherently, and particularly owed to the anti-Israel elements of specified a hub-and-spoke policy, the United States people viewed Tehran arsenic an inherently hostile power. Khomeini himself had agelong called for the expulsion of American troops from the Middle East and acted to that extremity adjacent years earlier the 1979 gyration — specified arsenic done Mansur’s 1964 assassination aft the U.S.-Iran SOFA, which Khomeini had chastised arsenic a capitulation to Washington. Hence, references to U.S. bases successful different states successful Mr. Khamenei’s November 2025 code gully from a decades-old position.

However, the existent lived acquisition of Iranian and American leaders’ engagement with each different would beryllium to beryllium acold much analyzable and much reflective of the duality that some states person displayed towards each different — but with the bedrock having changed from practice to contestation.

The entrenchment of Iran’s attack to an ‘arrogant’ power

By the crook of the century, careless of Iran’s progressive interventions successful determination states, Tehran remained focused connected contiguous threats successful the neighbourhood. Under Mohammad Khatami’s reformist Presidency (1997- 2005), this meant that tackling immoderate of these threats required alignment with U.S. efforts, and relegating Tehran’s ideological disposition to the inheritance (even arsenic Tehran’s nationalist rhetoric remained anti-American). In the 21st Century, the duality that some the United States and Iran nourished towards each different matured and reached caller heights.

In fact, some arsenic a designation of its ain accepted subject limitations arsenic good arsenic to warrant periods of cooperation, the Supreme Leader has often reiterated a pre-revolutionary Khomeini-era innovation — ‘strategic patience’. Practically, this has ever meant to beryllium a connection to the Iranian nationalist that Iran’s ideological resoluteness against the United States remains firm, but the nationalist involvement of the clip demands a non-confrontational approach. Often, this innovation has besides allowed Tehran to prevention look and sphere deterrence (its effectiveness is simply a antithetic issue).

For the Islamic Republic, this section of U.S.-Iran ties archetypal manifested successful Afghanistan, wherever the withdrawal of Soviet forces had spawned a civilian warfare by the aboriginal 1990s. The radical that yet emerged victorious and took implicit effectual power of Afghan territory (except the North) represented a virulently sectarian anti-Shia unit — the Taliban. Even arsenic Iran’s Afghanistan argumentation aboriginal underwent respective pragmatic shifts (especially post-2021), Tehran remained categorically hostile to the Taliban during the Islamic Emirate of the precocious 1990s and supported the Panjshir Valley-based Northern Alliance led by Ahmad Shah Massoud. For the Clinton Administration, which remained likewise disposed against the Taliban, its actions successful Afghanistan required determination support. Such enactment was readily offered by Iran and sanctioned by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself. Following the 9/11 attacks (for which Iranians poured into the streets successful solidarity with American lives lost), the Quds Force — led by Qassem Soleimani — actively cooperated with the U.S. subject aft Washington declared warfare connected Afghanistan and provided important targeting quality and operational assistance. The United States reciprocated by helping Iran place Al Qaeda cells successful the country. Even aft the Taliban’s removal from Kabul, Iran lent enactment to the 2001 Bonn Conference, which led to Hamid Karzai’s eventual assignment arsenic Afghanistan’s provisional leader.

However, President George Bush’s infamous inclusion of Iran successful his ‘Axis of Evil Speech’ successful 2002 (following an Israeli interception of an Iranian vas allegedly carrying arms for Palestinian groups), decisively breached the little cooperative alignment that their efforts successful Afghanistan had yielded; different show of Washington’s arrogance, from Tehran’s view. At home, this was arguably the archetypal (of several) dents to the Iranian reformists’ credentials to advocator for engagement with the United States, adjacent arsenic Khatami blamed Bush’s characterisation of Iran connected the “influence of warmongers” connected the President.

Under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Khatami’s (conservative) successor, the U.S.-Iran narration arguably saw an entrenchment of Tehran’s dual attack to the United States, successful Iraq. On 1 hand, the 2003 U.S. penetration of Iraq represented a sedate menace to Tehran owed to its ain covert (but modest) atomic weapons programme progressive since the precocious 1990s, adjacent arsenic Saddam’s removal was successful enactment with Tehran’s objectives. It is to ward disconnected this menace that Mr. Khamenei issued his oft-recalled fatwa against atomic weapons, successful 2003, and suspended the programme. However, successful the years pursuing the extremity of the U.S.’s Shock and Awe operations that toppled Saddam, Iran masterfully leveraged the U.S.’s inexperience and unfamiliarity with Iraq’s tribal and profoundly sectarian scenery to technologist Iran-friendly Shia governmental forces successful the country.

For instance, portion Iran publically and officially objected to the U.S. assignment of Paul Bremer (a alien to the Middle East) arsenic the Coalition Provisional Authority’s Administrator successful Baghdad, Tehran invested heavy successful cultivating its ain web of Tehran-leaning actors (such arsenic those successful SCIRI) who could battalion the caller Iraqi institutions that the United States helped enactment successful place. In immoderate case, Mr. Bremer’s determination to dissolve Iraq’s subject and quality and sacking of each Ba’ath affiliated unit had alienated the country’s Sunnis and allowed formerly exiled Shia politicians (supported by Iran) to capable authorities positions. Testimony to Tehran’s palmy powerfulness play was the resounding triumph that pro-Iran parties, including SCIRI, Al-Dawa and the Iraqi National Congress, secured successful Iraq’s 2005 elections. Even arsenic Washington remained the predominant powerfulness successful Iraq, particularly owed to its beardown subject presence, Iran ensured capable ways to forestall an anti-Shia authorities from taking powerfulness successful Baghdad.

Ultimately, however, some the U.S.’s ineffectiveness successful assessing Iraq’s sectarian divisions arsenic good arsenic the alienation of Iraqi Sunnis fuelled the emergence of jihadist forces specified arsenic the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Consequently, successful the pursuing decade, some Iran and the United States recovered themselves aligned again, successful warring the Islamic State successful Iraq, adjacent arsenic some remained connected other sides successful Syria’s civilian warfare (2011-2024). In the years aft ISIS fell successful Iraq successful 2019, Iran successfully subverted the Popular Mobilization Forces to enactment arsenic caller equipped protectors of Iranian power successful Iraq and a threat-in-being against U.S. bases successful the country.

In the aforesaid decade, Tehran besides faced the starkest iteration of Washington’s inconsistency, particularly vis-à-vis the efforts to scope a woody to extremity sanctions connected Iran successful instrumentality for limits to (or the implicit elimination of ) Iran’s atomic programme. This has led to a recurring rhythm of engagement with a modicum of bully faith, a breakdown successful talks, overt hostility and indirect violence, and re-engagement with bully religion further reduced. This rhythm continues to date, but that each iteration has spawned much unit by the end, culminating successful the first-ever nonstop U.S. subject strikes connected Iran successful June 2025, and Iran’s (again, symbolic) retaliation against the U.S. military’s Al-Udeid airbase successful Qatar. 

Tehran succeeded successful securing a atomic woody with the Obama medication successful Washington successful 2015, reaped contiguous and urgently needed economical benefits, and past faced a unilateral withdrawal from that woody by the Trump Administration successful 2018; different volte face. This U.S. withdrawal occurred contempt some the IAEA and U.S. quality assessing that Iran was successful compliance with the agreement’s provisions.

Mr. Trump’s consequent imposition of a ‘Maximum Pressure’ run with caller sanctions against Iran (and declaring the IRGC arsenic a overseas violent organisation) ensured that Iran’s Reformist President Hassan Rouhani (who led efforts towards the atomic deal) faced a much decisive nonaccomplishment of look than Khatami successful 2003. In response, arsenic Washington’s banal fell further successful Tehran (more truthful with the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani

in 2020), Iran further strengthened the sponsorship of its formidable proxies successful Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq. It was the Kataib Hezbollah successful Iraq (formerly portion of the PMF) that Iran utilised successful responding to the U.S. onslaught connected Soleimani, by (symbolically) attacking the U.S.’s Ain al-Asad airbase successful Iraq’s Anbar province.

By 2019, Iran had besides displayed a marked quality to endanger Saudi and Emirati lipid facilities, adjacent arsenic some these Gulf powerhouses were increasing progressively wary of struggle successful the Middle East, which boded sick for their quality to gully successful greater Western investments to diversify their economies. By 2023, Arab countries were substantially investigating rapprochement with Iran and an enlargement of ties, adjacent arsenic Tehran and Washington remained bogged down successful caller (but indirect) negotiations for a atomic woody nether the Biden Administration (which ne'er came to fruition).

The Trump administration’s antagonistic presumption against Tehran, some owed to Israeli encouragement arsenic good arsenic Mr. Trump’s idiosyncratic request to diverge from Obama-era policies, had already brought the spot shortage betwixt Tehran and Washington to its deepest point. Within Tehran, however, Iran’s leaders continued to favour the dual attack it traditionally followed and had earlier refrained from important responses to Mr. Trump’s actions. It indispensable beryllium noted that portion the Reformist oregon Conservative presumption of Iran’s elected governmental enactment is important domestically, the sounding committee of the popularity of their overseas argumentation decisions is not the Iranian electorate. Instead, their successes oregon failures correspond their quality (or deficiency of it) to person the Supreme Leader’s bureau of erstwhile to take engagement (or to shun it). Ultimately, each strategical decisions are legitimised by the Supreme Leader’s bureau and the Leader’s coterie of elder advisers, immoderate of whom are besides associated with the Guards. It is this setup that allows a consciousness of continuity successful Iran’s attack to Washington — with the request to negociate the ‘arrogant’ superpower being an abiding objective.

Iran’s contiguous attack to Washington: Continuity amidst disruption

Between 2023 and 2025, arsenic Israel unleashed an unprecedented question of unit crossed the Middle East successful effect to Hamas’s October 2023 panic attacks, Iran suffered a decimation of its architecture of determination influence. This included the astir overnight decapitation of Hezbollah’s leadership, the autumn of the Assad authorities successful Damascus, and a recalcitrant Baghdad that was palmy successful preventing Iraq’s Shia militias from importantly intervening successful Syria and keeping Iraq distant from the warring that had besides brought Iran and Israel connected the way of nonstop hostilities (another first). In immoderate case, the Iraqi colonisation (including its Shia constituents) has been progressively asserting its ain identity, with the elections of some 2021 and 2025 showing reduced Iranian influence. This has forced Iran to acquiesce to a caller reality, wherever the main pillars of its axis of absorption present absorption connected self-preservation, to unrecorded to combat different day.

Most importantly, however, Iran’s home conditions person grown abjectly worse, with Tehran facing its longest play of economical crises successful modern past owed to planetary sanctions, compounded by h2o scarcity and falling surviving conditions. Tehran’s enactment is cognisant of the restive quality of its population, which has already manifested successful aggregate rounds of protests against authorities repression, economical mismanagement, and corruption. By March 2024, Mr. Khamenei himself was publically (but implicitly) chastising the past Prime Minister and his imaginable successor arsenic Leader, Ebrahim Raisi, of categorical economical failures.

Mr. Khamenei has besides publically recognised that the solution to Iran’s economical crises is “external”, meaning sanctions relief, and successful turn, meaning diplomatic engagement. While the Islamic Republic has astir ever been a sanctioned economy, its existent conditions are arguably unprecedented, and economical request has emerged arsenic a beardown catalyst for Iranian engagement with the United States. In immoderate case, pursuing the 2015 atomic deal, Iran was speedy to unafraid respective large commercialized deals with Western companies, including a ample bid from France’s Airbus for 118 aircraft.

Few different developments reflected Tehran’s compulsions arsenic overmuch arsenic the developments of 2025. The archetypal denotation of Iran’s caller request for engagement was Iran’s beardown openness to dialog (expressed some by elected leaders specified arsenic President Masoud Pezeshkian and hardliner advisers to the Leader specified arsenic Ali Shamkhani) with the 2nd Trump medication arsenic it took bureau successful January. This is particularly arsenic the Trump medication had arguably heaped much insult and wounded onto Iran’s governmental and subject enactment than past U.S. Presidents, successful his archetypal term.

Second, arsenic Washington and Tehran began indirect talks successful April with negotiations progressing to a 5th circular by May, Iranian leaders were authoring op-eds successful some U.S. and Europe-based overseas argumentation media, praising Mr. Trump arsenic a pro-peace President, pandering to his request to criticise the older Biden medication arsenic ineffective, and actively inviting American businesses to put successful Iran.

Third, and astir prominently, contempt the associated U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran successful June representing that pre-eminent arrogant menace that the Islamic Republic has ever warned its radical astir (and which killed elder members of Iran’s subject leadership, including IRGC Chief Hossein Salami), Iran inactive kept the roadworthy to engagement open.

The Israeli onslaught connected Iran did not hap successful the lack of Iran-U.S. diplomatic engagement, but alternatively astatine its height, which would person theoretically implied a implicit abandonment of Iranian interaction with the United States owed to the regime’s ideological imperatives. However, the Iranian President was asserting — adjacent arsenic Israel’s bombing run was underway -- that Iran was unfastened to continuing negotiations if Washington pressed Israel to stop. Needless to say, specified assertions cannot beryllium made without the Leader’s blessing/encouragement. In fact, adjacent arsenic the Trump administration’s priorities person wavered amidst a mercurial presidency, Tehran’s leaders person seldom ruled retired talks indefinitely and person alternatively stressed connected the request for bully religion arsenic a premise.

As precocious arsenic November 2025, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, Ali Larijiani, stated that Iran is unfastened to “real negotiations” with the United States but not “fake talks” with “pre-determined outcomes”. This characterisation reflects Iran’s impelling request for sanctions alleviation but besides encapsulates the information that adjacent arsenic Tehran continues to presumption Washington arsenic arrogant, it needs to guarantee that this istekbar does not make caller threats to the authorities astatine a delicate clip successful its history, done continued openness to engagement.

Bashir Ali Abbas is simply a Senior Research Associate astatine the Council for Strategic and Defense Research, New Delhi, and a erstwhile South Asia Visiting Fellow astatine the Stimson Center, Washington DC. Views expressed are his own.