The State of Iran’s Diplomatic Ties to the West
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s relationship to the West has remained complex. Marred by a history of economic exploitation and military intervention, diplomacy between Iran and the West has been characterised by skepticism and distrust. While Iran has expressed a willingness to strike a deal on its nuclear program, the country’s chances of engaging in peaceful diplomacy with the West have dwindled in the face of a hostile American government and Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Iran’s strained relationship with the West arises from a history of mutual suspicion and conflicts rooted in the twentieth century. In 1953, the CIA orchestrated a coup to overthrow Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq after he nationalised the oil industry, threatening Western economic interests. This intervention reinstalled the Shah, whose authoritarian rule and close ties to the U.S. fueled deep resentment towards the government among Iranians. Tensions erupted again in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution, when militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. The crisis ultimately led to the conclusion of diplomatic relations between the US and Iran, symbolising the popular Iranian rejection of Western intrusion. While the popular uprising led to an explicitly Islamic fundamentalist government, the majority of the revolutionary coalition pursued regime change for political freedom, not religious governance. Despite the diverse nature of the revolutionary movement, the subsequent power vacuum after Shah Pahlavi’s departure allowed for the rise of a theocratic government.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran fell under the control of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, becoming a theocratic state under the control of the supreme leader. The revolution replaced the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (which often embraced Western cultural values) with a new system based on the Islamic principles. In this system, the supreme leader holds ultimate control over the military, court system, state media, and major policy decisions. Although elected bodies like the president and parliament exist, they operate within the boundaries established by unelected clerical institutions.
Citizen responses to this system have been mixed and polarised. In promoting stronger relations between Iran and the West, democracies must emphasise the disparity between the Iranian government and its citizenry. Many Iranians have protested the government’s authoritarianism, political oppression, and economic policies. This discontent has led to multiple waves of protests, most recently in 2022 when the death of a young woman in custody of the morality police inspired widespread demands for regime change. Despite their lack of success due to harsh government responses, these movements demonstrate increasing dissatisfaction among Iranians with the Islamic Republic.
Despite their poor relationship, the US and Iran managed to achieve compromise in 2015. The Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in 2015 under President Obama between Iran and the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany. The agreement required Iran to reduce its uranium stockpile, dismantle large amounts of equipment, and open its facilities to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections in exchange for lifting sanctions. However, in 2018, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the agreement and worsened sanctions, prompting Iran to exceed enrichment limits and scale back international inspections. Since then, multiple efforts to restore the deal have failed. In 2025, Iran expressed openness to a “fair and balanced” proposal but insists on maintaining enrichment rights and demands reciprocal steps from the West. Despite this, chances of restoring the JCPOA remain slim due to Trump’s reelection and lingering hostility.
Iran’s ties with Western countries remain poor in 2025, fueled by tensions over its nuclear programme, strict sanctions, and the recent US military strikes against Iran. Germany, France, and the UK have reimposed sanctions as well, citing Iran’s limited cooperation with UN inspectors and the IAEA. The US has imposed further sanctions, especially targeting entities involved in Iran’s oil exports and trade networks with China.
At the same time, Iran has conveyed willingness to agree to a “fair and balanced” nuclear proposal from the US, seeking to preserve uranium enrichment rights but allow oversight to reassure the international community that its programme is for peaceful purposes only such as energy. In 2017, Iran’s Foreign Minister wrote in the New York Times that Europe must express sincere interest in diplomacy with Iran, framing the Iranian nuclear program as an entirely defensive measure. Though there have been indirect negotiations, progress remains limited.
Meanwhile Iran is prioritising its relationship with Russia and China as demonstrated by the signing of a long‑term strategic partnership with Russia in January 2025. This agreement derives itself from Iran and Russia’s joint skepticism of the West, however its adoption is unlikely to incentivise cooperation on their behalf.
In June 2025, the US initiated bombings on three major Iranian nuclear facilities in coordination with Israeli operations to specifically weaken Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity as opposed to regime change. Early assessments, however, suggested that while the damage was significant, Iran’s ability to enrich uranium was only set back by a few months since underground infrastructure remains intact.
Ultimately, Iran’s ability to negotiate with the West heavily depends on its willingness to make concessions regarding its nuclear programme. This seems unlikely to unfold given Donald Trump’s uncompromising stance on sanctions, the lifting of which provided a pathway to the JCPOA. Relations between the West and Iran have become a self-fulfilling prophecy of hostility and mutual skepticism. If diplomatic ties are to improve, the West must sympathise with the Iranian collective memory of its twentieth century exploitation and violations of sovereignty to accomplish the herculean task of rebuilding trust after a century of bad diplomacy.
Image accessed via Wikimedia Commons.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
