THE POLITICAL RELATIONS between Iran and the USA date back to the time the Shah of Persia, Nassereddin Shah Qajar, during the 1800s. The two countries shared an amicable political and cultural tie until the post-World War 2 era. However, the relationship turned sour post 1979, when militant Iranian students occupied the American Embassy in Tehran with the support of Ayatollah Khomeini on 4 November 1979. The militants held fifty-two Americans hostage for 444 days.

 

Following the Islamic revolution and the hostage crisis, the USA imposed several economic sanctions against Iran. The USA accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons and sponsoring terrorism. It not only blocked US-based oil companies from operating in Iran but also blocked US firms’ foreign competitors from operating in Iran as well. On 7 April 1980, the USA broke all diplomatic relations with Iran. The Swiss Government on 24 April 1981 started representing the USA in Tehran. Similarly, Pakistan represented Iran in the USA. Later in compliance with the Algiers declaration of 20 January 1981, the Iran-US Claims Tribunal was set-up to handle claims of the USA nationals against Iran and of Iranian nationals against the USA.

 

However, the relation between the two countries took a tragic turn on 3 July 1988, when the US missile cruiser, USS Vincennes, shot down an Iranian Airbus killing 290 civilians on board. Later, on 22 February 1996, the USA agreed to pay Iran US$ 61.8 million in compensation. The USA, however, denied any responsibility or liability for the incident.

 

Another issue of contention between the two countries is the Iranian assets worth $12 billion frozen by the USA after the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran. Although, the USA officials claim to have released most of these assets, the Iranian officials allege that around $10 billion still remain pending. Since 2003, Iran has also been complaining about the unlawful flying of unmanned aerial vehicles by the USA over its territory.

 

The relationship took a further downward turn when in February 2003, Iran publicised its uranium enrichment program at Natanz. Iran claimed that it would use the technology for peaceful purposes and invited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear monitoring body, to visit its nuclear facilities. The USA alleged that Iran was using the program to develop nuclear weapons and sought to refer the issue to the UN Security Council.

 

Iran signed a temporary agreement with Germany, France and Britain in November 2004 to cease uranium enrichment. This led IAEA to issue Iran a clean chit and helped Iran in avoiding the intervention of the Security Council. However, in spite of giving it a clean chit, the IAEA could not confirm that Iran is not pursuing undeclared nuclear activities.