U.s. And Iran Relations

The 1953 coup in Iran undoubtedly led to a politically destabilized nation and negatively affected the Iranians opinion of a democratic country. From the beginning, the U.S. has always supported democracy, until they sided with Reza Shah. Reza Shah was a tyrant and evidently very fond of using brutality and violence to attempt to make the citizens of Iran fear him to such an extremity that they would not consider

The Iranian hostage crisis was one of the most dramatic events in a series of problems that took place during President Jimmy Carter’s term. The crisis, beginning in November of 1979, received the most coverage of any major event since World War II. It was one of many problems faced in light of the United State’s complex relationship with Iran. The effects on both the US and Iran were astronomical, especially politically as well as economically and socially. It took a heavy toll on American relations with the Middle East and changed the way we engage in foreign affairs. In light of this crisis, Iran started an international war that we are still fighting thirty-two years later.

It’s debatable whether President Jimmy Carter would have won the election of 1980 if the Iranian Hostage Crisis never happened. However, even the most profound of historians know that the conflict with Iran did indeed spark the beginning of the Ronald Reagan era and put Jimmy Carter in company with only a select number of presidents to not be re-elected to a second term. President Carter’s inability to resolve the problem made him look like a weak and ineffectual leader. Perhaps the most demonstrative example of the president’s inadequacy was an ill-advised executive decision that he made in April of 1980, the same year of the election. With lagging and inauspicious diplomacy talks ongoing with Iran, Carter grew frustrated. Not backed by his most important advisors, the president made the call to

President Carter, like other presidents before him, had concentrated mostly on the Soviet Union. This was caused by the Cold War and the tensions that arose from it. Therefore the US’s main attention had been directed away from the Middle East. Since Iran was anti-communist then “the United States supported any regime that was not communist” (Bechtel 2). There was more of a reason for the president to focus on the Soviets than the Iranians, but he “did not ignore Iran during this period but it was not perceived as a hot spot ”(Farber 80). The main situation the US faced with Iran was the issue over oil and even when discussing the ownership over oil fields, there was never a moment where hostages were involved. The United States had made "innumerable pleas, resolutions, declarations, special missions, and even sanctions" to try and return the hostages safely back home (Ismail). Such extents even included sending eight helicopters to rescue the hostages. “Three out of the eight were damaged in the sandstorm, the mission was aborted”, and the death of the eight persons caused the Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance to resign even though he opposed the mission to begin with (“Iran Hostage Crisis”). The President had to be prepared to attack if any of the hostages were harmed. There were three things that were first sought out when realizing what had happened overseas in Iran. First,

Not only did the American public hope to be able to rely on and trust their federal government, but they also desired strong management of foreign affairs. During the Presidency of Jimmy Carter, America faced many blunders overseas. One particular high-profile issue was the Iranian Hostage Crisis where, “Iranian students stormed the U.S embassy in Tehran and took 53 Americans hostage,” and the attempted rescue of said hostages which resulted in a collision between two helicopters and eight dead marines (Davidson, et al 937). The Carter Administration’s handle on foreign affairs proved to be disastrous. As a result, the Republican party’s platform for the election of 1980, in which Carter was running for reelection, focused heavily on

Perhaps the number one event, that will cost Jimmy Carter his reelection for president was the Iranian Hostage Crisis that went on for approximately 444 days and held 52 American diplomat citizens hostage in Iran. Several Iranian students, stormed the American embassy on November 4, 1979. This had all occurred because the former, exiled, Shah of Iran had been permitted entry into the United States to receive medical treatment for cancer. In the 1950’s the Shah of Iran was appointed by the United States. He was a dictator, who ruled with violence and cruelty. The people of Iran, are traditionally Shiite Muslims and the Shah was taking Iran towards a more progressive society. This further upset the people of Iran who did not want their conservative

In 1908, oil was discovered in massive quantities in Iran. Ever since, Iran has attracted a great deal of attention from other countries. In 1953, the United States felt that Iran was moving ever closer to Russia. To keep Iran out of Russian hands, the CIA overthrew Iran’s prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, and placed the Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi, in place as dictator. However, the Shah was greatly disliked by innumerable Iranians because they felt he went against Islam and he let his secret police, the SAVAK, brutally control the people. In 1963, they openly rebelled. The revolutionaries were subdued forcefully and the leader of the rebellion, Ruhollah Khomeini, was exiled and sent to Iraq. This was the start of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. The people began to rebel more and more often until, on January 16, 1979, the Shah raced away to Egypt. On January 30, 1979, thousands of Iranians cheered for Ruhollah Khomeini as he came back to Iran after fourteen years as an exile. Then there was a major question: should the United States, the Shah’s former ally, allow him to enter the country? According to Vice President Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter “went around the room, and most of us said, ‘Let him

The US government tried to negotiate, rescue and embargo Iran for the hostages taken under Carters administration. They were released when Reagan was elected. He dealt from a position of power and the Iranians respected that.

“ The Islamic Revolution of 1979: The Downfall of American- Iranian Relations” analyzes American- Iranian diplomacy from 1953- 1979. It is an explanation of the causes and developments of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power and

The crisis made the relations between the united States and Iran very bitter. The Iranians also developed strong and contempt feelings toward President Jimmy Carter. Carter failed at attempting to secure the hostages’ freedoms and that decreased his popularity. This crisis caused the Iranian Revolution to get moved along and become a bigger problem. An oil conflict also resulted because the United States then had trouble getting oil from Iran. After the hostage crisis, the U.S. then looked at Iranians as terrorists and did not have

The relationship between the American people and their government drastically changed in the 1970s. The people began to distrust their government after The Watergate Scandal, oil prices, and the falling economy. President Jimmy Carter, elected in 1976 was seen by the public as an honest man that was working for the people not for the evils of Washington DC. Carter, being an outsider, grew very popular with the American people. His lack of insider perspective became troublesome when he could not explain his clear motives and direction he was taking America. This not only caused tension within his own administration, but also caused the American people to regain the feeling of mistrust they once felt with Nixon

During Jimmy Carter’s presidency, from 1977 to 1981, the Iran hostage crisis took place. In 1979, young Islamic revolutionaries took more than 60 Americans hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The built up tensions were due the oil interest from western countries especially America after 1953. After the United States feared that the Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh would be getting closer to Moscow, the United States, or more specifically the CIA, overthrew him and put the Shah in his place. The Shah tried using his powers to start economic and social reforms to transform and westernize Iran. There was much disagreement and conflict with Iranian citizens due to the westernizing influence, and an uneven distribution of wealth after 1963.

In the article “Iran Hostage Crisis,” Paul Pierpaoli Jr. claims that this event greatly impacts American politics and international relationships. Throughout the article, Pierpaoli alternates between events in Iran and events in the United States to emphasize the correlation and interconnectedness between the two countries. The author begins by stating the prior events before November 4, 1979, and explains how the depth hatred of America and the shah came to be. He implies that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini began to fire the previous resentment against the United States and persuade the country to commit acts against the government, and in turn the United States, which led to the taking over of the embassy. In November of 1979, around seventy

“WELCOME BACK TO FREEDOM,” a sign is held up as the remaining hostages climb out of the plane on American soil. The Iran Hostage Crisis included Iranian students holding Americans hostage. Fifty-two American hostages were held in the United States Embassy in Tehran for 444 days. The 444 day hostage crisis lasted from November 1979 to January 1981. There are different reasons why the Iran Hostage Crisis could have happened. The actions and inactions of the United States’ government are to blame for the Iran Hostage Crisis because the United States allowed the Shah to obtain medical treatment, President Carter’s response to the crisis, and the U.S. involvement with Iran before the crisis. The Shah’s medical treatment in the United States created great hatred from Iranians toward the Shah and the United States. Many of President Carter’s decisions angered Iranians and is a cause of the Iran Hostage Crisis. There were many problems before the Iran Hostage Crisis between the United States and Iran. There was the Iran Revolution, the overthrowing of the Shah, and the political right that were sent to the Shah.

The United States has had some international issues with Middle Eastern countries in the past. It goes without saying; the most recent is the current gulf war led by George W. Bush and of course the previous gulf war led by his father George H.W. Bush. With neighboring Iran, there have been quarrels such as the Iran-Contra affair. This involved a political scandal in which Ronald Reagan's administration sold military arms to Iran. At this time they were in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War, while the United States had hostages held in Lebanon by Hezbollah. The United States hoped that Iran would influence Hezbollah to release the American hostages, but didn't. Finally, with Saudi Arabia also part of the Middle East, the United States