Legacy of the Tehran Hostage Crisis and US-Iran Diplomatic Relations in the Middle East: A Brief Study on US Engagement with Iran (1979-2019)

Abstract

Surprise has been Iran’s one of the tactic in the regional conflicts since the victory of
the Islamic Revolution. The first surprise was the Tehran Hostage Crisis, took place in 1979,
when the Khomeini led Islamic Revolution overthrown King Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty.
This dramatic historical event has been influencing the US diplomacy towards Iran for decades
now. This crisis was a psychological war launched by the Iranian regime against the United
States (US), to indicate breakdown of diplomatic relations with US and competition for
hegemony in the Middle East region. Since then, US administration has been struggling to
restore diplomatic relationship with Iran. Both states are in a continuous dilemma of
anticipating more surprises from each other in the region. International structure, regional
structure, leadership and religion can be explained as the causal explanation of the collapsed
diplomacy between US and Iran. Iran has been continuously running a hegemonic race with
US in the region. Iran’s nuclear energy development and its involvement in the regional crisis
in Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon have been causing tremendous challenges to US.
Iran’s support to Hamas and Hezbollah is another factor to induce US enmity with Iran.
Obviously engagement of Iran is a though job in the US diplomacy, US need a pragmatic
foreign policy approach towards Iran.