U.S. Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran: From the War on Terror to the Obama Administration

203 Pages·2015·1.3 MB·English

by  Kumuda Simpson

U.S. Nuclear Diplomacy
with Iran
Weapons of Mass Destruction Series
Edited by Joseph M. Siracusa and Aiden Warren
The series focuses on weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), discussing all issues sur-
rounding nuclear, chemical, radiological, and biological weapons. The volumes aim to
present varying historical, contemporary, state, non-state, traditional, and non-traditional
approaches from emerging scholars, established academics, and those involved in the
foreign and security policy domains.
In the context of the nuclear section of the WMD series, it is evident that despite there
being fewer nuclear weapons today than during the Cold War era, the threat remains para-
mount. More states in more unstable regions have attained such weapons, terrorists may
pursue them, and the command and control systems in even the most sophisticated nuclear-
armed states remain susceptible not only to system and human error but, increasingly, to
cyber-attacks. The failure of armed states to disarm, the inability to prevent new states and
non-state actors from gaining access to WMDs, and the expansion of nuclear energy plants
present a real security danger today. As such, the series is timely and necessary.
Joseph M. Siracusa is professor of Human Security and International Diplomacy
and Deputy Dean of Global and Language Studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology University, Australia.
Aiden Warren is senior lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at the
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Melbourne, Australia.
Titles in the series include:
• A History of U.S. Nuclear Testing and Its Influence on Nuclear Thought, 1945–1963
by Joseph Siracusa and David M. Blades, 2014
• The Challenges of Nuclear Non-Proliferation by Richard D. Burns and Philip Coyle,
2015
• Nuclear Iran: Accord and Détente since the Geneva Agreement of 2013
by Nader Entessar and Kaveh Afrasiabi, 2015
• U.S. Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran: From the War on Terror to the Obama
Administration by Kumuda Simpson, 2015
• Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Introduction to Today’s Security Dilemma
by Richard D. Burns, Joseph Siracusa, and Aiden Warren, 2016
• India-Pakistan Nuclear Diplomacy: Constructivism and the Prospects for Nuclear
Arms Control and Disarmament in South Asia by Mario Carranza, 2016
U.S. Nuclear Diplomacy
with Iran
From the War on Terror to
the Obama Administration
Kumuda Simpson
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN: 978-1-4422-5211-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
eISBN: 978-1-4422-5212-7
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Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction ix
1 America and Iran during the Cold War 1
Foundational Narratives 1
Mohammad Mosaddeq and the CIA Coup 5
The Iranian Revolution and the American Hostage Crisis 7
The Iran–Iraq War 10
The Iran–Contra Affair 11
Conclusion 14
2 The War on Terror and Iran’s Nuclear Programme 19
Neoconservatism and the Bush Doctrine 20
Neoconservatism and Benign Hegemony 22
The Bush Doctrine 24
September 11 and the Bush Doctrine 25
The National Security Strategy 2002 27
The National Security Strategy 2006 31
Axis of Evil 34
The IAEA and the Inspections Process 37
2003–2004 39
2005 46
3 Policy Confusion and Regional Instability 55
Referral to the UNSC 55
To Engage or Not to Engage 60
The Nuclear Tipping Point 63
v
vi Contents
Regime Change 65
Hardliners, Pragmatists and Reformers 73
Consequences for Democracy and Political Reform
in the Middle East 76
Stability versus Reform 79
Conclusion 81
4 President Obama and the Enrichment Issue 91
Nuclear Abolition and Disarmament 92
Engagement and Coercive Arms Control 94
The 2009 Iranian Elections 97
Enrichment and the NPT 99
Coercive Arms Control I: Sanctions 100
Coercive Arms Control II: Stuxnet and Covert Action 101
Red lines and the Middle East in Turmoil 102
Iran’s Growing Regional Influence 104
Iranian Influence in Iraq 107
The Syrian Crisis and Regional Consequences 108
America’s Response 110
5 Diplomacy and the Geneva Process 119
Domestic Disrupters: The US Congress 121
Saudi Concerns and Regional Turmoil 123
Implications of a Nuclear Deal for the Oil Trade 125
The Interim Deal 128
The IAEA and the PMD Issue 129
Sanctions and Diplomacy 130
Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress and the Letter
to Iran’s Leaders 131
The Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action 132
6 The Future of Middle Eastern Proliferation 143
Proxy Wars and Iranian Power after the Nuclear Deal 144
A Middle East Arms Race 146
The Security Dilemma and Regional Security Concerns 147
Rogue States and the Narrative of Exceptionalism 150
Conclusion 159
Bibliography 163
Index 185
About the Author 188
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Benjamin MacQueen for his encouragement and
feedback as I began this thesis. His advice was always timely and generous.
I’d also like to thank Dr Timothy Lynch for his extremely useful feedback
and constant advice and support during the final months.
I’d like to offer my immense gratitude to Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh
for his supervision. His guidance and mentoring throughout this process has
been unfailing and I couldn’t have achieved this without it.
I’d also like to thank Judith Simpson, Michael Bradley, and Billy McCabe
for their words of encouragement and for reading through the finished manu-
script. Their feedback and comments greatly improved the book and their
friendship and support were essential during the writing process.
Lastly, this book is for Harriet. I hope you grow up in a world where the
narratives we tell create harmony and understanding.
vii

Introduction
This book engages in an exploration of the evolving US policy regarding Iran,
catalysed by the 2002 revelations about expansion of its nuclear programme.
By examining the unfolding nuclear crisis and the contours of US diplomacy
during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, it seeks to under-
stand the strengths and weaknesses of American non-proliferation policies
and the lessons and implications this has for future proliferation challenges.
At a deeper level though, this book is a critique of the nuclear alarmism and
demonization of Iran that has been a feature of American public diplomacy
throughout the period. The dire warnings and extreme predictions of nuclear
disaster and war in the Middle East did very little to educate the public about
the very real concerns about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, nor did
it appear to be helpful diplomatic behaviour.
The classification of Iran as a ‘rogue’ state, and the potential global disaster
should it acquire a nuclear weapon, has been at the centre of public discourse
about that country. While Iran’s disruptive behaviour in the Middle East,
including its support for the Assad regime and groups such as Hamas and
Hezbollah, certainly explains the appellation of rogue state, the term is also
a deeply politicized one and should be interrogated. For both the Bush and
Obama administrations, emphasizing Iran’s pariah status served important
political ends. It reinforced the existing balance of power in the Middle East,
reassuring regional Gulf Arab allies that the United States remained com-
mitted to containing Iranian influence. It also contributed to the changing
discourse of American security in the post–September 11 context, which
emphasizes the threat from rogue states and the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD).
In this context, identity politics, and their impact on security discourse,
has gained attention as an important area of study that offers insights beyond
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