The US and Iran, 30 years later

Yesterday week marked the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Shi'ite cleric, which had a huge impact on the entire Muslim world and the Middle East, as well as the balance of power in the region. The establishment of an Islamic Republic in 1979 meant that the West, in particular the US, had lost a powerful and valuable ally.

There was widespread support for the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had ruled Iran since 1953 when he was put in power by a CIA-backed coup, a cause of resentment among Iranians until today. The US was particularly keen on supporting the Shah because Iran was regarded as an important ally during the Cold War and a key bulwark against the spread of Soviet Communism.

Tehran's vast oil reserves were obviously also an important factor in the US-Iranian alliance. The Shah, who created a modern economy and extended many civil rights to women was, however, a dictator who suppressed dissent and was viewed by many of his countrymen as a puppet of the West.

The Islamic Republic that succeeded the Shah soon turned into an autocratic regime and US-Iranian relations have been stormy ever since. Soon after the revolution, Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 diplomats hostage - including Bruce Laingen, former US Ambassador to Malta - who was apparently told by one of the hostage-takers: "You have no right to complain, because you took our whole country hostage in 1953".

Soon after, the US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran, which were never re-established. The hostages were released 444 days later, on the day Ronald Reagan took office as President.

In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran and the war lasted eight years, in which 600,000 Iranians died. The US supported Iraq but it secretly provided arms to Iran in 1985 in what is known as the Iran-Contra affair, which involved arms for US hostages in Lebanon and funding for the Nicaraguan contras.

In 1988, the US mistakenly shot down an Iran Air Airbus carrying 290 passengers and crew in the Persian Gulf. Some observers believe Iran was involved in the bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in December 1988 in an act of revenge.

In April 1995, the US imposed oil and trade sanctions on Iran, accusing it of supporting terrorism and in 2002 President George W. Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil". Since then, Washington has been instrumental in getting the UN Security Council to impose economic sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.

There is no doubt that the relationship between the US and Iran over the past 30 years has been based on mutual distrust and suspicion. Ayatollah Khomeini always referred to the US as "the Great Satan" - which serves as a useful diversion from internal problems. His successor as spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is equally anti-American.

Furthermore, Iran's clear support for Hizbollah, Hamas and Shi'ite militias in Iraq, its vociferous opposition to the Middle East peace process and its nuclear programme made rapprochement with Washington difficult. So did President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and his assertion that "Israel must be wiped off the map".

There have been occasions when a thaw in relations between the two countries might have seemed possible, such as when Mohammed Khatami, a moderate (by Iran's standards), was elected President in 1997 and again in 2001. In fact, in 2003 Iran offered the US a 'grand bargain' that would have dealt with terrorism, the Middle East dispute, Iraq and Iran's nuclear ambitions and security concerns.

Nobody knows how genuine Iran's proposals were but President Bush unfortunately thought it best to reject them outright. The 2005 election of Ahmadinejad severely dented any chance of a normalisation in relations between the two countries.

Still, with Obama at the White House, an opportunity does exist today for a thaw in relations. True, last week's launch by Iran of a space satellite using long-range ballistic technology it could use to carry nuclear warheads certainly sent out the wrong signal.

However, Obama has rightly set no pre- conditions for speaking to the Iranians. He should now rule out regime change in Iran and acknowledge that Tehran has legitimate security concerns and deserves to be treated as an important regional player, while continuing to insist that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

It is likely that former President Khatami will challenge Ahmadinejad in June's presidential election. Perhaps this new conciliatory approach by Washington will convince Iranians to vote against their incumbent hardline president and for Khatami, and then we could possibly witness a real chance for a thaw in relations between the two countries, which will have positive implications for the entire region's stability.