LYCOS RETRIEVER 
U.S.- Iran Relations
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Talks between America and Iran in Baghdad will mark the first official thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations, frozen since 1980. More importantly, the talks could lead to a vital partnership between Washington and Tehran against al-Qaida, the greatest single terrorist threat in the world today.
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Prior to the 1979 hostage-taking episode, the most contentious issue in U.S.-Iran relations was the 1953 coup against Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq, which the CIA and British intelligence helped to instigate. Numerous questions remain about the coup itself, its impact, and the circumstances which brought it about. To what extent was Mossadeq leading his country down the path toward communist subversion? Could the coup have succeeded without substantial Iranian public dissatisfaction with Mossadeq’s policies? Did key Iranian political and religious figures, wittingly or not, receive CIA payments in return for stirring up the population? What effects did the coup have on the future development of internal Iranian politics, including possibly radicalizing anti-Shah and anti-American opposition elements with consequences that would not be foreseen until the revolution itself?
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The U.S.-Iran Relations: Regional and Global Dynamics conference was held at the University of Utah, September 9-10, 2005. The conference, sponsored by the Middle East and Central Asia Conference committee and World Security Network, hosted experts from around the world including the American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS). The AIIrS Executive Director Erica Ehrenberg delivered a paper on the role of AIIrS in promoting citizen contacts. An AIIrS pre-doctoral fellow was ... in attendance. The center also participated in many dialogue sessions that proved to be valuable forums for the airing and exchanging of ideas. AIIrS presence and contribution to the conference influenced two U.S. universities in attendance to apply for institutional membership in AIIrS.
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Some have suggested that the best way to stop Iran�s nuclear program is direct U.S.-Iran negotiations or a grand bargain which resolves all outstanding issues between the two governments. That would require Tehran to abandon not only its nuclear programs but all support for terrorism, including against Israel, in return for full normalization of U.S.-Iran relations and settlement of all outstanding financial claims. Such an initiative stands a very slim chance of success. Given the deep ideological, political and material investment Iran has made in groups like Hizbollah, Islamic Jihad and other organizations committed to fighting a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is difficult to see the Islamic Republic radically change course in exchange for an agreement with the Great Satan. Furthermore, the effort itself would require so much time and high-level attention that it could amount to a diversion, providing Iran with a stalling tactic to delay pressure while its nuclear program moves ahead.
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If the voices of reason in Washington and Tehran were to prevail, the present thaw in U.S.-Iran relations could become the first important step in confidence building. It could ... eventually revive the century-old Iranian-American tradition of amity. This is decidedly the hope of millions of highly enlightened young Iranian women and men.
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U.S.-Iran relations have been contentious. Last month, Bush called for continued international sanctions against Iran. His comments came after the release of the National Intelligence Estimate that indicated Iran had ceased its nuclear weapons program in 2003. He said the assessment proved that Iran had a secret weapons program that it could restart.
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U.S.- Iran Relations