Why Iran must remain a US enemy [View all]

[Jefferson23]

The most important factor in shaping US policy towards Iran is domestic politics - not Obama's own geopolitical vision.

04 May 2015

About the Author
Gareth Porter

Dr Gareth Porter is an investigative journalist and historian specialising in US national security policy.

Since the start of the US nuclear negotiations with Iran, both Israeli and Saudi officials have indulged in highly publicised handwringing over their belief that such a nuclear deal would represent a fundamental strategic shift in US policy towards the region at the expense of its traditional alliances with Israel and Saudi Arabia.

But the Obama administration is no more likely to lurch into a new relationship with Iran than were previous US administrations. The reason is very simple: The US national security state, which has the power to block any such initiative, has fundamental long-term interests in the continuation of the policy of treating Iran as an enemy.

Some in the Israeli camp have spun elaborate theories about how the Obama administration's negotiations with Iran represent a strategic vision of partnership with the Iranian regime.


Typical of the genre is former Bush administration official Michael Doran's speculation in February that US President Barack Obama based his policy of outreach to Tehran on the assumption that Tehran and Washington are "natural allies".

in full: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/04/iran-remain-enemy-150430051039753.html