Demystifying United States’ ‘Iran Myth/s’: How Not, and How to Fix the Tehran Conundrum?

Abstract

This article explores United States’ Iran policy, especially the current debate over the revival of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that has gained momentum ever since Joe Biden became the new US president. Despite Biden’s initial desire to restore the nuclear deal, the trajectory so far has been that of a roller-coaster ride. The parties are yet to reach an agreement. While exploring why, this article argues that the United States has been entrapped into an intractable rivalry with Iran. In fact, many neoconservative academic and policymaking Iran hawks falsely portray Tehran as pursuing ‘regional hegemony’ and bringing back the dangerous ‘Persian Empire’ to encourage and favour a harsh policy towards Iran. Besides, the United States allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia also lured Washington to pursue aggressive policy towards Iran. However, as this article demonstrates these false narratives and myths while hurting the United States’ national interest blinds Washington to possible areas of mutual interest with Iran. The trajectory of JCPOA underscores this. Therefore, it is very crucial to scrutinize the ‘Iran myth/s’ and offer valuable lessons to the United States as to how not, and how to fix the Iran conundrum.