In 1953, Iran's nationalist Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh began a period of rapid power consolidation, which eventually led to his exiling of Iran's constitutional monarch, the Shah. The United States and Britain, through a now-admitted covert operation of the CIA, helped organize protests to overthrow Moussadeq and return the Shah to Iran. After his return, Iran's fledgling attempts at democracy quickly descended into dictatorship as the Shah dismantled the constitutional limitations on his office and began to rule as an absolute monarch.
During his regin, the Shah received significant American support, frequently making state visits to the White House and earning praise from numerous American Presidents. The Shah's close ties to Washington and his bold agenda of rapidly Westernizing of Iran soon began to infuriate certain segments of the Iranian population, especially the hardline Islamic conservatives.
In 1979 Iranians revolted and the Shah was ousted for a second time. The violently anti-American Ayatollah Khomeni became Iran's new leader, and soon began issuing vicious rhetoric against the United States, describing the country as the "Great Satan" and a "nation of infidels."
The American administration under President Jimmy Carter refused to give the Shah any further support and expressed no interest in attempting to return him to power. A significant embarrassment for Carter occurred when the Shah, now suffering from cancer, requested entry into the United States for treatment. Carter reluctantly agreed, but the move only re-inforced Iranian notions that the former monarch was an American puppet.
On November 4, 1979, militant Iranian students occupied the American embassy in Tehran with the support of Ayatollah Khomeini. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days. On April 7, 1980, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran, and on April 24, 1981, the Swiss Government assumed representation of U.S. interests in Tehran. Iranian interests in the United States are represented by the Pakistani Government.
In accordance with the Algiers declaration of January 20, 1981, the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal (located in The Hague, Netherlands) was established for the purpose of handling claims of U.S. nationals against Iran and of Iranian nationals against the United States. U.S. contact with Iran through The Hague covers only legal matters.
Commercial relations between Iran and the United States are restricted by U.S. sanctions and consist mainly of Iranian purchases of food and medical products and U.S. purchases of carpets and food. The U.S. Government prohibits most trade with Iran.
There are serious obstacles to improved relations between the two countries. The U.S. Government defines five areas of objectionable Iranian behavior:
- Iranian efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction;
- Its involvement in international terrorism;
- Its support for violent opposition to the Middle East peace process;
- Its threats and subversive activities against its neighbors; and
- Its dismal human rights record.
