Preview: After the popular overthrow of the U.S.-backed Shah in 1979, the United States and Iran formed one of the most hostile relationships of any two countries not at war in the modern era. The roots of their tensions derive from a complex set of issues having in part to do with history, conflicting ideologies, and regional as well as global geopolitics. The outcome has been decades of minimal dialogue coupled with a regular exchange of insults and accusations, warping not only their respective public opinions and politics, but also the geostrategic landscape from the Levant to the Persian Gulf and beyond. However, while the U.S.–Iran rivalry has not served to ease regional fires and the spread of instability, cooperation between them may do so, given America’s position as a major global power and Iran’s as a major regional power. The greatest evidence for the possibility of such a change in the U.S.–Iran relationship occurred from 2013–2016, when both sides pursued diplomatic engagement to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute.
