United States Foreign Policy in Addressing Iran's Nuclear Program 2021-2024
Keywords:
Foreign Policy, United States of America, Identity, National Interest, Iran Nuclear Program
Abstract
This study analyzes the United States’ foreign policy toward Iran’s nuclear program during 2021–2024. In 2022, President Joe Biden expressed the intention to resume dialogue with Iran; however, this effort was rejected by 48 Republican senators who insisted on continuing the Maximum Pressure policy initiated during the Trump administration. Using a qualitative approach and literature study, this research examines the interplay between identity, domestic politics, economic strength, and military capacity in shaping U.S. foreign policy. The findings reveal that the construction of U.S. national identity, reinforced through social and political interactions, significantly influences the formulation of foreign policy. These factors led decision makers, particularly the President, to maintain the Maximum Pressure strategy as the main approach in addressing Iran’s nuclear ambitions during the 2021–2024 period.
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Akbarzadeh, Shahram. “Democracy Promotion versus Engagement with Iran.” Journal of Contemporary Asia (2011): 470-482. Dokumen Digital.
Aldasam, Dabbous. Relations Between the U.S. and Iran. Strategy Research Project. Philadelphia: United States Army War College, 2013. Dokumen Digital.
Ali, Javed. “Chemical Weapon and The Iraq-Iran War : A Case Study in Noncompliance.” The Nonproliferation Review (2001): 43-58. Dokumen Digital.
Blight, James G. Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988 . London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Dokumen Digital.
Cain, Anthony Christopher. Iran's Strategic Culture and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Implications of US Policy. Alabama: Air War College, 2002. Dokumen Digital.
Centers of Power in Iran. Intelligence Report. Washington DC: Directorate of Intelligence, 1972. Dokumen Digital.
Cia. Campaign To Install Pro-Western Government In Iran. CIA Act Release. Washington: CIA, 2011. Dokumen Digital.
Creswell, John W. dan J. David Creswell. Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods. London: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2018. Dokumen digital.
Eslami, Mohammad dan Alena Vysotskaya Guedes Vieira. “Shi'a principles and Iran's strategic culture towards ballistic missile deployment.” International Affairs (2022): 675-688. Dokumen Digital.
Eslami, Mohammad. “Shia Geopolitics or Religious Tourism? Political Convergence of Iran and Iraq in the Light of Arbaeen Pilgrimage.” Eslami, Mohammad, Morteza Bazrafshan dan Maryam Sedaghat. The Geopolitics of Iran. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. 363-385.
Foreign Relations Committe. 49 Senate Republicans Tell President Biden: An Iran Agreement Without Broad Congressional Support Will Not Survive. Laporan Komite. Washington DC: Foreign Relations Committe, 2022. Dokumen Digital.
Frieden, Jeffry A., David A. Lake dan Kenneth A. Schultz. “What Shaped Our World? A Historical Introduction.” Frieden, Jeffry A., David A. Lake dan Kenneth A. Schultz. World Politics : Interests, Interactions, Institutions. London: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2019. 2-40. Dokumen Digital.
Ghamari-Tabrizi, Behrooz. “The Divine, the People, and the Faqih On Khomeini’s Theory of Sovereignty.” Adib-Moghaddam, Arshin. A Critical Introduction to Khomeini. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 211-239. Dokumen Digital.
Hazbun, Waleed. ““US Military Strategy in the Middle East and the Challenge of Demilitarization”.” Harb, Imad K. A US Pivot Away from the Middle East: Fact or Fiction? Washington DC: Arab Center Washington DC, 2023. 23-32. Dokumen Digital.
Holloway, David. Nuclear Weapons and the Escalation of the Cold War, 1945-1962. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Dokumen Digital
Jahromi, Mohammad Hossein Ghanbari. “The process of designing the comprehensive deterrence doctrine of I.R. Iran In the country's outlook for next twenty years.” Scientific Quarterly Journal of Defense Strategy (2015): 1-38. Dokumen Digital.
Katzman, Kenneth. Iran: Politics, Gulf Security, and U.S. Policy. CRS Report. Washington DC: Congressional Research Service, 2016. Dokumen Digital
Kerr, Paul K. Iran’s Nuclear Program: Status. Laporan Kongres. Washington DC: Congressional Research Service, 2019. Dokumen Digital.
Khidhir, Zainaddin M. “US Foreign Policy Goals in the Middle East between 2011 and 2021.” INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE (2021): 164-182. Dokumen Digital.
Lawrence, Robert Z. “Recent US Free Trade Initiatives in the Middle East: Opportunities but no Guarantees.” Working Paper 06-050 (2006). Dokumen Digital.
Nuclear Threat Initiative. Iran Nuclear Chronology. Laporan . Monterey: MIIS, 2011. Dokumen Digital.
Office of US Trade Representative. Middle East and North Africa Trade Summary. Juli 2025. Dokumen Digital. 27 Juli 2025.
Olson, Erik A. “Iran’s Path Dependent Military Doctrine.” Strategic Studies Quartelery (2016): 63-93. Dokumen Digital.
Opuware, Kenny Alubeze dan James C Chukwu. “International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nuclear Non-Proliferation: An Assessment.” THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAR JOURNAL OF ARTS (2018): 55-66.
Pollack, Kenneth M. Grand Strategy: Why America Should Promote a New Liberal Order in the Middle East. 22 Juli 2006. Website. 27 Juli 2025.
Root, Hilton, Yan Li dan Kanishka Balasuriya. “The US Foreign Aid Policy to the Middle East: The Political Economy of US Assistance to the MENA Region.” SSRN Electronic Journal (2016): 1-18. Dokumen Digital.
Rublee, Maria Rost dan Avner Cohen. “Nuclear norms in global governance: A progressive research agenda.” Contemporary Security Policy (2018).
Sadjadpour, Karim. Reading Khamenei: The World View of Iran’s Most Powerful Leader. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2009. Dokumen Digital.
Sparkman, John. “Checks and Balances in American Foreign Policy .” Indiana Law Journal (1977): 432-477. Dokumen Digital.
Sundari, Rio. “Iran's Nuclear Program Discourse as Deterrence Effort against The United States of America.” Journal of Diplomacy and International Studies (2018). Dokumen Digital.
Tannenwald, Nina. The Nuclear Taboo The United States and the Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons Since 1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Dokumen Digital.
Thomas, Clayton. Iran: Background and U.S. Policy . CRS Report. Washington DC: Congressional Research Service, 2024. Dokumen.
Waltz, Kenneth N. “Why Iran Should Get the Bomb: Nuclear Balancing Would Mean Stability .” Source: Foreign Affairs, Vol. 91, No. 4 (2012).
Westad, Ood Arne. “Conclusion: Revolutions, interventions, and great power collapse.” Westad, Ood Arne. The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 396–407. Dokumen Digital.
World Bank. USA GDP (current US$). 27 Juli 2025. Website. 27 Juli 2025.
Yazid, Mohd Noor Mat. “The Cold War, Bipolarity Structure and the Power Vacuum in the East and South East Asia after 1945.” Journal of Global Peace and Conflict (2014): 121-128
Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications Design and Methods. London: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2018. Dokumen Digital.
Zazai, Abuzar Khpalwak dan Fawad Jamili. “U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Strategic Goals, Oil Interests, and the Promotion of Democracy.” Journal of Progressive Law and Legal Studies (2025): 55-68. Dokumen Digital
Published
2025-09-25
Section
Articles
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