Pessimistic Ideology: US foreign policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran

One of the most important issues in Iran-US studies is to understand the US approach towards the Islamic Republic of Iran. In seeking to find an answer to the question why Iran and US are not inclined to normalize their relations, mostly the Islamic Republic has been at the receiving end of the criticisms. The current paper maintains a critical view on US foreign policy during Clinton and Bush presidencies coinciding with Khatami administration (1997-2005) to challenge that argument. The paper concludes that the main problem in normalization of ties goes back to the imperialistic policy of the United States to approach relations with the Islamic Republic through a framework that, here, we can call it ‘pessimistic ideology.’ In explaining this approach, we first deliver a theoretical framework on how US foreign policy towards the Islamic Republic of Iran is shaped. Then, we explain US foreign policy in that period. The paper, finally, concludes some patterns of the US ideological policy to describe its inconsistency in relation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.