Foreign Policy between Iran and Israel

Introduction

The relations and policies between Iran and Israel have grown continuously tremulous, and there have been talks of nuclear weapons. Two observations that can be made about the foreign policy between Iran and Israel; the debates about nuclear weapons, oil reserves continue to be a problem, as well the link of the Middle East with the United States’ foreign policy.

Background

Iran and Israel have a rocky past. Iran’s location allows its government to control 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves. In 1997 they had a population of over 60 million people. Iran continues to be a problem in the Middle East, as far as the formulation of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. (Zunes, 1997). U.S. involvement dates back to the early 1950s when the CIA aided in major government changes. The U.S. then trained the Iran army for 25 years after, as well as the secret police. Many think that the United States may have buried themselves during this period and that unrest could have been avoided.

“The revolution that finally overthrew the monarchy in 1979 was (not surprisingly) stridently anti-American. With the secular opposition having largely been eliminated by the Shah’s repressive apparatus and the greater cohesion of the similarly suppressed religious opposition, the revolution took on an Islamic orientation. Within two years of its triumph, the revolution had assumed a brutal and reactionary character” (Zunes, 1997).

The relations between Iran and Israel continue to create a great rift through the bloody conflict that has been happened between Israel and Palestine. In 2002, “the war of words has heightened fears of more carnage in the Middle East after 16 months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed, although most political commentators say a regional conflict is unlikely at this stage” (China Daily, 2002). In a 2012 article, Iran is seen as a beast that is ‘waiting under the surface’ in its conflict with Israel.

Observation I

The first observation that can be made about the foreign policy between Iran and Israel is that they have remained in a fighting stance throughout their conflict, and this has not changed throughout. “It is also clear that Israel is urging the United States to adopt a similar position towards Iran. In July 2008, Israel reportedly sought U.S. clearance to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities and was denied” (American Foreign Policy Project, 2009). The Islamic Republic of Iran has severed all relations with Israel and did not follow traditional theories of international relations while they decided on their own policies (Haji-Yousefi, n.d.). Israel has also been tough on Iran’s oil industry, accusing them of using them to ‘stop’ its nuclear program, and that they were developing nuclear weapons despite all of the denials (Bronner, 2012). Both countries are always figuratively shouting accusations at one another, and there never seems to be a moment to settle.

Observation II

Another observation made throughout the research is that there has been on-again, off-again talk about nuclear weapons. Iran seems committed to Israel’s destruction, and President Hassan Rouhani is consistently hostile toward Israel and its Jewish population. “It’s been echoed in recent weeks by other prominent members of Iran’s military and parliament” (N.d.). Because of the strain and the consistent failure of potential peace talks, it is always likely that conflict will break out and this makes the threat of nuclear weapons very real.

Linkage to the US

Peace talks with Iran, Israel and the rest of the Middle East are simply “for the purpose of containing Iran” (Federal News Services, 2010). There are talks about nuclear weapons and how to prevent further conflict between Iran and Israel, and beyond. “Since then (October of 2009), however, Iran has refused to stop enriching uranium at Natanz, refused to stop work on the new enrichment facility at Qom, and refused to accept a provisional deal reached in October to send most of its stockpile of LEU abroad” (American Foreign Policy Project [Iran Nuclear Talks: The Way Forward], 2009). The problems with the oil industry have also very closely linked the United States with Iran and kept the country in the Middle East. Because of the U.S. investment in oil, and in Iran by partnership, they tend to take an interest in the conflict between Iran and Israel.

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