The Obama Administration’s Policy toward the Iranian Nuclear Program

Abstract

The United States of America, as a global power, interferes in many nations’ internal affairs, including Iran. The latter is viewed as a danger to world security due to its nuclear enrichment program, leading the United States to enact a number of measures aimed at restricting its nuclear capabilities. The thesis studies and analyzes the diplomatic relations between the US and Iran in order to shed light on the reversal in the cordial relationship that bound the two countries during the reign of the Shah to the hostile and strained one that characterized the two states’ bilateral relations since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Moreover, it provides a historical background about the Iranian nuclear program. The purpose of this study is to analyze Barack Obama’s foreign policy toward the Iranian nuclear program and assess his policies’ efficacy and results. President Obama chose certain methods such as putting economic and political sanctions on Iran, but subsequently he moved to a negotiating and diplomatic strategy to end the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program. Additionally, President Obama has managed to improve the relationship between the two nations to an extent that epitomized into the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, which ensured that Iran would use its nuclear program for only peaceful uses and not for nuclear weaponization. The study also found that the Obama administration’s strategy, which focused on the use of engagement and diplomacy proved to be more fruitful than the previous hardline strategies of his predecessors as far as Iran’s nuclear program is concerned.