Iran–United States relations during the Obama administration

Iran–United States relations

Iran	United States
Diplomatic mission
Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy, Washington, D.C.	Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, Tehran
Envoy
Director of the Interest Section Mehdi Atefat	United States Special Representative for Iran Abram Paley

Iran–United States relations during the Obama administration (2009–2017) were defined by a shift from confrontation to cautious engagement, culminating in the landmark nuclear agreement of 2015.

At the start of Obama’s presidency, both sides exchanged public messages signaling a possible thaw, with Iran voicing long-standing grievances^[1] and the United States calling for mutual respect and responsibility.^[2] However, after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in 2009, which sparked mass protests and allegations of fraud, the United States responded with skepticism and concern.^[3] In late 2011 and early 2012, Iranian military officials threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz,^[4] a vital waterway for global oil shipments, and warned a U.S. aircraft carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf. The United States rejected the warning and maintained its naval presence in the region, while experts questioned Iran’s capacity to sustain a blockade for more than a limited period.^[5][6]
The 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, seen as a moderate,^[7] marked a shift in tone, with his outreach at the UN and a historic phone call with Obama signaling renewed diplomatic engagement.^[8][9] While high-level contact resumed and symbolic gestures were exchanged, conservative backlash in Iran highlighted internal divisions over rapprochement.^[10] In 2015, the United States and other world powers reached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.^[11] The agreement marked a major diplomatic achievement for the Obama administration, though it faced skepticism in Congress and mixed public support in the U.S.

Two days after Barack Obama was elected president in November 2008, Ahmadinejad issued the first congratulatory message to a newly elected American president since 1979: "Iran welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts. I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem".^[12] In his inaugural speech, President Obama said:

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West—know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

Ahmadinejad issued a list of grievances, including the 1953 coup, support for Saddam Hussein in the Iran–Iraq War, and the Iran Air Flight 655 incident.^[1] In March 2009, an official delegation of Hollywood actors and filmmakers met with their Iranian counterparts in Tehran as a symbol of United States–Iran relations, but Javad Shamghadri, the Arts Adviser to Ahmadinejad, rejected it and said, "Representatives of Iran's film industry should only have an official meeting with representatives of the academy and Hollywood if they apologize for the insults and accusations against the Iranian nation during the past 30 years".^[13]

On 19 March 2009, the beginning of the festival of Nowruz, Obama spoke to the Iranian people in a video saying, "The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right—but it comes with real responsibilities".^[2]

In April 2009, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of spying for the United States. She was accused of possessing a classified document but denied the charge. After spending four months in prison, she was released in May, and the charge was dropped.^[14][15]

On July 9, 2009, the United States released five Iranian diplomats (Mohsen Bagheri, Mahmoud Farhadi, Majid Ghaemi, Majid Dagheri and Abbas Jami), who had been held since January 2007.^[16] Some analysts believe this was a part of hostage exchange deal between the countries.^[17] The US State Department said the release was not part of a deal with Iran but was necessary under an American–Iraqi security pact.^[18]

Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi was arrested in early 2021 by the FBI and charged with acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of Iran. Afrasiabi is accused of lobbying and working secretively for the Iranian government.^[19]

On June 12, 2009, President Obama expressed optimism about the "robust debate" in Iran's presidential election. However, after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial landslide victory, which led to allegations of fraud and widespread protests, the U.S. response was skeptical.^[3] White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs acknowledged the enthusiasm in the election but noted reports of irregularities. Vice President Joe Biden also expressed concerns about the suppression of speech and crowds. On June 15, the State Department voiced its concern over violent arrests and voting irregularities.

Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri disappeared in May 2009, and Iran accused the United States of abducting him. On 13 July 2010, the BBC reported that Amiri had taken refuge in the Iranian interests section of Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC, and sought help to reach Iran.^[20] However, after his return to Iran, he was sentenced to ten years in prison^[21] and in August 2016 was reported to have been executed for treason.^[22]

On December 4, 2011, an American Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel UAV, operated by the CIA, was captured by Iranian forces near Kashmar. Iran claimed it seized the drone using cyber warfare, while the U.S. initially stated it had malfunctioned and crashed. Later, the U.S. admitted the drone was intact after Iranian TV aired footage of it. In November 2012, Iranian Su-25 jets fired on a U.S. drone over international waters and pursued it before returning to base. In March 2013, an Iranian F-4 jet also pursued a U.S. MQ-1 drone, but was warned off by U.S. fighter jets.

In late December 2011, Iranian navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was reported to have said that it would be "very easy" for Iran to close the Straits of Hormuz.^[23] On 3 January 2012 Iran's army chief Ataollah Salehi warned "We recommend to the American warship that passed through the Strait of Hormuz and went to Gulf of Oman not to return to the Persian Gulf". However, this was later denied by the Defense Minister of Iran.^[24] The warship is believed to be the American aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis which recently vacated the area as Iran conducted a 10-day naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz. Salehi was also quoted as saying "We have no plan to begin any irrational act but we are ready against any threat."^[25] The US Navy responded that it will continue with its regularly scheduled deployments, in accordance with international maritime conventions.^[26]

In 2012, the United States Navy was warned that Iran was preparing suicide attack boats and was building up its naval forces in the Gulf region. At a briefing in Bahrain, Vice Admiral Mark Fox told reporters the US Navy's Fifth Fleet could prevent Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.^[27]

The actual ability of Iran to close the strait has been questioned by experts, with estimates of the time that Iran would be able to sustain the closure ranging from a few days^[5] to over a hundred days.^[6]

Hassan Rouhani, a former nuclear negotiator and cleric seen as a political moderate,^[7] was elected president of Iran in June 2013 on a platform promising greater engagement with the international community and relief from economic sanctions. His visit to New York City to address the United Nations General Assembly in September 2013 was hailed as progress in the countries′ relationship. His television interviews and public addresses while in the U.S. were seen as an effort to convey the message Iran posed no threat and that he was ready to do business with the West; the Obama administration had in turn made a symbolic gesture by making the first official U.S. acknowledgement of the CIA's role in the ousting of Iran's democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh.^[28][29] However, he rejected US President Barack Obama's request for a meeting with him. On 26 September, Iran and the U.S. held their first substantive high-level meeting since the 1979 revolution at multilateral talks that involved the U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the meeting being chaired by the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.^[30] The following day, Rouhani and Obama spoke by telephone, the two countries' highest political exchange since 1979.^[8] The call led to protests by Iranian conservatives who chanted "death to America" when Rouhani returned to Tehran.^[31] On the 34th anniversary of the embassy siege, tens of thousands of supporters of a more hardline approach to relations gathered at the site of the former US embassy to denounce rapprochement. It was the largest such gathering in recent years. Conversely, a majority of Iranian citizens saw the progression of peace talks with the United States as a sign of hope for a future of an alliance between the two nations.^[10]

On 28 September 2015, an unplanned and "accidental" encounter between US President Barack Obama and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif occurred on the sidelines of a luncheon at the United Nations General Assembly, with the two men reportedly shaking hands. It was the first handshake between a US president and a top Iranian diplomat since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was present, also introduced Obama to two senior Iranian officials also involved in the JCPOA nuclear negotiations. The exchange was originally reported in Iranian media and was said to have lasted "less than a minute"; it was immediately condemned by conservative Iranian MP Mansour Haghighatpour, a member of the committee on national security and foreign policy, who called for Zarif to publicly apologize.^[32]

On 14 July 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or the Iran deal) was agreed upon between Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China—plus Germany) and the European Union.^[11] The Obama administration agreed to lift sanctions on Iran that had devastated their economy for years, in return Iran promised to give up their nuclear capabilities and allow workers from the UN to do facility checks whenever they so please. President Obama urged US Congress to support the nuclear deal reminding politicians that were wary that if the deal fell through, the US would reinstate their sanctions on Iran.^[33] Still, the lawmakers had a negative approach towards Iran, viewing it as a security threat to the US, its allies, and the international community, in line with existing stereotypical depictions of the country.^[34]

Following the deal, the U.S. supported a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the JCPOA—the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 of 20 July 2015. The resolution welcomed "Iran's reaffirmation in the JCPOA that it will under no circumstances ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons".^[35]

In 2015, The Washington Post claimed that 2 to 1 Americans supported the United States' efforts to negotiate with Iran on behalf of their nuclear capabilities. The Washington Post also stated that 59% of Americans favored the lifting of sanctions on Iran's economy in return for the power to regulate Iran's nuclear arms.^[36] Polling group YouGov did a survey before US President Donald Trump took office and found that approximately 44% of Americans thought that the President should honor international agreements signed by past presidents.^[37] The Polling Report has reaffirmed the positive polling numbers from using sources ranging from CNN polls to ABC polls and found that the majority of America was in support of the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015.^[38] By 2016 Gallup News reported that the overall public opinion of the US–Iran nuclear deal was at 30% approval and the disapproval was reported to be at 57%, and 14% had no opinion on the deal.^[39] In October 2017, Lobe Log (polling firm) found that about 45% of Americans were opposed to the Iran nuclear deal. The approval polls found that only 30% of Americans supported the Iran nuclear deal, staying consistent within the last year.^[40]

In February 2015, former Congressman Jim Slattery claimed to have visited Iran in December 2014 from an invitation by the Iranian government where he attended the World Against Violence and Extremism conference making him the first American lawmaker to visit the country after the Iranian Revolution. He claimed to have met with President Rouhani stating that Rouhani was "deeply committed to improving this relationship with the United States". The visit came at a time during negotiations leading to the JCPOA.^[41][42][43]

In April 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Iran must pay nearly $2 billion to victims of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. Although U.S. troops generally have no legal right to sue under combat rules, the judge determined they were on a peacekeeping mission under peacetime rules of engagement. As a result, survivors and family members were allowed to sue Iran under a 1996 law permitting U.S. citizens to take legal action against nations that sponsor terrorism.