DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW

‘WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT (PROJECT WORK)’

FOR ‘POLITICAL SCIENCE’

FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-2018.

ON THE TOPIC

IRAN: A STUDY

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Monika Srivastava Deepak Kumar(ROLL NO 051)
ASSOCIATE PROF. (Pol. Sci.) SEM I (B.A. LL.B (HONS.))

[1]
 -Table of Contents-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Acknowledgment.........................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Iran & Israel.................................................................................................................................................5
Iran & Saudi Arabia......................................................................................................................................6
Iran & USA.................................................................................................................................................10
Iran & India................................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................15

[2]
 -Acknowledgement-

Acknowledgment

The importance of research in Academics cannot be emphasized enough. While classroom

teaching helps a student with understanding the fundamental concepts of a subject, research

papers like this push one towards the detailed analysis of particular topics.

The fundamentals of my understanding of this topic were established with the classroom lectures

of Dr. Monika Srivastava at this University. She has since guided me on this topic for which I

am very grateful. I am also grateful to Dr. Madhu Limaye Library, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya

National Law University, Lucknow which provided me with the required support both in the

form of books and online database which has been of immense value to this project.

Finally, I acknowledge the support of my peers, the blessings of my parents and the never

ending grace of the almighty which has been the driving force of everything good in my life

including this research paper.

Deepak Kumar

Lucknow, 2017

[3]
 -Introduction-

Introduction

This project is a study of Iran from the perspective of International Relations and the relationship

it shares with some countries. Among other things, we shall look at the nuclear programs and

weapon development in Iran. A short study of the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is

also covered. The population control and fiascos in the past on this issue is also thrown some

light on.

Research Method

The doctrinal method of research has been used to make the project. To complete the project I

depended upon the theoretical books. Using the same, I have developed the project. Both

primary and second ary sources were very useful in arriving at some useful conclusions.

[4]
 - Iran & Israel-

Iran & Israel

Israel and Iran have a long and tumultuous relationship since late 1970s which has only gotten

worse over the years.

Where does it begin?

It all began in 1947 when United Nations planned the partition of Palestine. Iran and 13 other

countries rejected this. Once the Israeli State had been established Iran voted against their

inclusion in the UN. Even though Iran was one of the first Muslim majority states to unofficially

recognise Israel’s sovereignty in 1950. The two countries were close due to both the countries’

secular leadership from 1925 to 1979. Both the countries had a thriving trade relationship and

even combined the military forces to develop new technology.

Everything fell apart in 1979 when the Shah of Iran was overthrown by the religious leader

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iran became an Islamic Republic ruled by Islamic Law.

Khomeini quickly severed ties with Israel and United States and termed them as Little Satan and

Big Satan respectively. Even then in Iran and Iraq war Israel supplied Iran with military

equipment which was crucial in Iran’s victory. Yet, anti-Israel rhetoric went on to increase in

Iran. Their relationship continued to deteriorate with many Israeli leaders calling Iran’s existence

illegal and parasitic and called for its elimination. President Ahmadinejad’s election in 2005 as

the sixth president of Iran was a big blow for this relationship. He called for the end of the Israeli

State and supported the I ranian born anti-Israeli terrorist force Hezbollah. Recently U.S has been

pushing Israel to stop assassinating Iranian Nuclear Scientists. Today the fear is that of Iran

developing Nuclear weapons. Iran has promised to never develop nuclear weapons but they’ve

been repeatedly caught doing just the opposite. There is little hope of Israel and Iran making

peace anytime soon.

[5]
 -Iran & Saudi Arabia-

Iran & Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and Iran have a tense relationship. They differ greatly ideologically, politically and

culturally. Both countries are currently in a figurative race against each other to recruit allies in

the Middle East to affect the Middle Eastern affairs.

In 1920 both the countries had signed the Saudi-Iranian friendship treaty and diplomatic relations

were budding. However, by the time the 60s arrived differences had started coming up. Iran was

a progressive state while Saudi Arabia remained a conservative nation. The Shah of Iran wrote a

letter to King Faisal. The letter asked the King to modernize to conserve his reign.

“Please, my brother, modernize,” the Shah wrote. “Open up your country. Make the schools

mixed women and men. Let women wear miniskirts. Have discos. Be modern, otherwise I cannot

guarantee you will stay in your throne.”

To this King Faisal replied by saying:

“Your Majesty, I appreciate your advice. May I remind you, you are not the Shah of France. You

are not in the Elysee; you are in Iran. Your population is 90 percent Muslims. Please don’t

forget that.”

Despite the fact that both the countries are predominantly Muslims, each has a different and

opposing Islamic sect as the religious majority. Saudis are mostly the followers of the Sunni

faith. On the other hand, Iranians are Shia Muslims. Thus, the Saudi culture is conservative and

Iran is a progressive state.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 marked the beginning of a persistent mutual animosity between

the two. The revolution overthrew a major monarchy in the region at a time when Middle

Eastern monarchies were already in decline, and Khomeini denounced monarchies as ‘un-
[6]
Islamic’. He also denounced relations with the United States un-Islamic, cutting at the Saudi’s

most important alliance. The Saudi royal family saw Khomeini’s wish to export revolution as a

threat, albeit an impractical one, since Iran’s revolutionaries were Shia, whereas the majority of

the world’s Muslim are Sunni.

In the Iran-Iraq war Saudi supported Iraq both financially and politically as part of its struggle to

contain Khomeini’s movement, even though Iraq had started the conflict. Saudi Arabia saw

Iran’s new regime pursuing greater legitimacy at home by exporting its revolution to Iraq, where

the two main centres of Shia learning (Najaf and Karbala) are located. Saudi Arabia offered Iraq

substantial financial backing. King Fahd of Saudi Arabia reportedly told Saddam Hussein:

“You provide the rijal (men) and we’ll provide the rial (money).”

Saudi Arabia gave Iraq between 24 to 27 billion dollars during the war, and supported it

politically.

Ayatollah Khomeini also made a number of inflammatory comments publically against Saudi

Arabia. Saying things like “Mecca is in the hands of heretics.”

From the early 1970s, Khomeini had issued anti-imperialist, pan-Islamic themed messages

addressed to all Muslims via Iranian pilgrims visiting Mecca, in spite of Saudi Arabia’s

objections to his use of the hajj for political purposes. In 1987, Saudi security forces caused one

of the major traumas in Saudi-Iranian relations when they fired on pro-Khomeini pilgrims.

Around 400 people were killed in the clashes, and most of them were Iranian. The Saudis then

broke off diplomatic relations, and instituted a quota system, limiting the number of Iranian

pilgrims allowed to visit each year.

After the death of Khomeini in 1989, Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ignored

Khomeini’s record of antipathy to the Saudi regime and initiated a new phase of diplomacy.

[7]
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, did not share Khomeini’s scorn for Saudi leaders,

but didn’t pursue better relations either and merely tolerated Rafsanjani’s efforts. The two

countries restored relations in 1991.

The period between 1997 and 2003, during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, marked a

high point in relations. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who is now King Abdullah, wanted to

engage Iran and got along well on a personal basis with both Rafsanjani and Khatami. The 1997

Organization of the Islamic Conference summit in Tehran brought together representatives of

both countries, who hadn’t visited each other’s countries for almost 20 years.

By 2007 the tension between the two nations had subsided and as a gesture of goodwill and

friendship the Iranian President visited Saudi Arabia.

The Syrian War brought the relationship between the two to a new low. Beginning in 2011, the

war put Iran and Saudi Arabia on opposing sides of an appalling struggle, with Iran seeing

President Bashar Al-Assad’s survival as a fundamental strategic matter, and Saudi Arabia

believing his survival was as impossible as it was undesirable, and pushing for his downfall. Iran

supported Assad by providing loans and oil and by mobilizing Hezbollah and the Revolutionary

Guards on his behalf. Saudi Arabia entered the proxy conflict late in 2011, following Turkey and

Qatar. Saudi Arabia’s Syria policy, which was directed by Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, was novel

for Saudi Arabia, which has not typically sought to overthrow governments.

In January 2015, Yemen was taken over in a coup by a Shia rebel group called Houthi which is

backed by Iran and opposed by Saudi Arabia. Both the states are engaged in a proxy war. Iran

and the Houthis identify with the Shia Islam while Saudi Arabia and pre-coup Yemen identified

with the Sunni Islam.

This proxy war is actually about influence over the middle-east. It’s a race for the control over

middle-eastern countries. Baghdad, Iraq is currently under Iranian influence. Iran denies the fact
[8]
that it has trained and armed the Houthi soldiers. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is backed by Gulf

Cooperation Council which consists of Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and

Kuwait. Saudi Arabia is also a member state of this Council. Oman is neither Sunni not Shia and

thus refused to take sides. U.S has a vested interest in the GCC to prevent Yemen from turning

into an uncontrolled terrorist hideout like Somalia. U.S is only providing logistical and

intelligence support and no U.S troops or weapons are officially sanctioned.

[9]
-Iran & USA -

Iran & USA

In 1953 U.S with U.K organised a coup in Iran and placed Iran under a U.S friendly Shah,

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. This was done partly to stifle Russia’s growing influence in Iran and

partly to protect U.K’s oil interest in the area. Iranian prime minister wanted to nationalise Iran’s

oil industry and this did not sit well with the west. Over the next 26 years U.S provided aid,

support and even nuclear for Iran and the Shah. It was a period of prosperity for Iran but there

was a growing disconnect between the Shah and the people. Various groups and people did not

agree with the fast pace at which the Shah was westernizing and secularizing Iran and also the

influence U.S had over him. They also resented the Shah’s increasingly oppressive, corrupt, and

extravagant government and its mismanagement of assets which lead to shortage and inflation. In

1979, the conflict reached a boiling point and the Shah was overthrown. Power then landed in the

hands of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Iran’s first Supreme Leader). He established the Islamic

Republic of Iran. The relationship with U.S hasn’t been good since. On November 4th of 1979

protestors stormed the U.S embassy in Iran and the Iranian government held 52 hostages for

more than a year. Since then U.S has backed Iraq in a war against Iran. In this war U.S also

attacked Iranian oil platforms and ships and an Iranian passenger jet which U.S claims to have

mistakenly shot down. Iran has funded or sheltered west hating Islamic terrorist groups, held U.S

citizens in Iran against their will, moved forward with the nuclear program against the objections

made by the U.S and the international community, lied numerous times to international

inspectors about the programs. U.S has conducted various covert operations against Iran

[10]
including a joint cyber-attack with Israel that briefly crippled Iran’s nuclear program. It’s been

more than decades of lies, mistrust, covert operation, and open aggression. The chance of Iran

and U.S working together against a threat like ISIS is a possibility. But given the history it will

have to be a very short lived relationship that doesn’t require either of the countries to fully trust

the other. It will be a very uneasy truce.

After many months of principled diplomacy, the P5+1 — the United States, the United

Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany — along with the European Union, have achieved

a long-term comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran that will verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring

a nuclear weapon and ensure that Iran's nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful going

forward.1

Iran has agreed to reduce its uranium production to 1/3rd for at least 10 years. They’ve also

agreed to reduce both the amount and quality of the uranium produced and a ban on opening of

any enrichment facility for the next 15 years. Iran has also agreed to invasive inspection by the

International Atomic Energy Agency which will have access to both disclosed and undisclosed

facilities, their supply chain and any uranium sources. In return U.S has offered Iran that

sanctions imposed on it as well as any UN Security Council resolution will be lifted. But only

those issues concerning the Nuclear Energy shall be included in that list. This does not include

resolutions concerning terrorism, human rights violation and ballistic missiles. None of this shall

have any effect on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

President Obama has called it as an “historic understanding with Iran”.

1
https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/iran-deal
[11]
1968 – Iran signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

1987-89 – Iran obtained secret nuclear technology from Pakistan’s Head Nuclear Engineer.

1996 – Iran is caught trying to build a nuclear weapon.

1996 – President Bill Clinton imposes the Iran and Libya sanction to deny them the finances

required.

2000 – CIA gives Iran defective Nuclear Blueprints. Plan backfires when Iran discovers the

flaws and uses it to their advantage.

2003 – Iran allows international inspections of some nuclear sites.

2004 – Hasan Rouhani (Nuclear Negotiator) signs the Paris agreement to stop Uranium

enrichment temporarily.

2005 – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad restarts the nuclear plans.

2010 – A joint effort between U.S and Israel creates a computer virus that takes down a fifth of

Iran’s nuclear technologies.

2013 – Despite sanctions causing depreciation of Iran’s currency value, Ahmadinejad says they

will expand uranium production and nuclear weapon proliferation.

2013 - Hasan Rouhani (Nuclear Negotiator), who is U.S friendly, is elected president. He slows

down efforts of enriching uranium.

[12]
2013 – President Obama talks to President Rouhani over the phone. This is the first direct

contact between U.S and Iran since 1979.

2014 – In exchange for 7 billion in as sanction relief, Iran agrees to temporarily halt their nuclear

program.

2015 – Iran rejects all the plans proposed by the U.S to freeze all nuclear activity for 10 years.

Although Iran has repeatedly said that they have no interest in developing any nuclear weapon,

U.S, Israel, and allied European countries don’t trust them. Though negotiations continue it does

not look likely that Iran will stop its pursuit for nuclear weapons.

[13]
 -Iran and India-

Iran & India

India and Iran have friendly relations in many areas, despite India not welcoming the 1979

Revolution. There are significant trade ties, particularly in crude oil imports into India and diesel

exports to Iran. Iran frequently objected to Pakistan's attempts to draft anti-India resolutions at

international organisations such as the OIC and the Human Rights Commission. India welcomed

Iran's inclusion as an observer state in the SAARC regional organisation.

A growing number of Iranian students are enrolled at universities in India, most notably in

Pune and Bengaluru. The clerical government in Tehran sees itself as a leader of Shiites

worldwide including India. Indian Shiites enjoy state support such as a recognised national

holiday for Muharram. Lucknow continues to be a major centre of Shiite culture and Persian

study in the subcontinent.

In the 1990s, India and Iran supported the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan against the Taliban

regime. They continue to collaborate in supporting the broad-based anti-Taliban government led

by Ashraf Ghani and backed by the United States. The two countries signed a defence

cooperation agreement in December 2002.

In August 2013, while carrying oil in the Persian Gulf, Iran detained India’s largest ocean

liner Shipping Corporation (SCI)’s vessel MT Desh Shanti carrying crude oil from Iraq. Iran was

resolute, and insited the detention of the tanker was “a technical and non-political issue”.

[14]
On 22 May 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Iran. The visit focused

on bilateral connectivity and infrastructure, an energy partnership, and trade.

Mr Modi to held talks with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and its President

Hassan Rouhani. Trilateral agreement on Chabahar trade was signed by Mr. Modi President

Ashraf Ghani and President Rouhani. Chabahar is a port in south-east Iran that will enable India

to bypass Pakistan and open up a route to land-locked Afghanistan with which New Delhi has

closed securities and economic interest. From Chabahar this existing Iranian Road Network can

linked up to Zaranj in Afghanistan about it 883 kms from the port. The Zaranj-Delaramroad road

constructed by India in 2009 can give access to Afghanistan’s Garlnd Highway, setting up road

access to four major Afghanistan  - Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. Besides signing

a deal on development of Chabahar port, India is looking at doubling oil imports from which a

few years back was it second biggest oil supplier, as well as getting rights to develop a giant gas

field. Mr Modi inaugurated and international conference on ‘Retrospect and Prospect” of India-

Iran relations.

Just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017, Iran's Supreme

Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, urged Muslims in Kashmir to 'repudiate oppressors'.

[15]
 -Conclusion-

Conclusion

Iran is ranked 8th in active military personnel. Iran has roughly 545,000 active troops. They have

$6.3 billion defence budget. They have the capability to build their own military equipment. But

there is a lot of corruption and inexperience within the ranks. Economically Iran is getting

weaker every day and that is precisely why they are in talks with UN to regulate the nuclear

programs in return for easing the sanctions imposed on Iran. Presently, all trade between Iran and

U.S is prohibited. Numerous countries have cut down on the Iranian oil which they import

including U.S, China, U.K, India, and Turkey. U.S, U.K and Canada have also stopped all

financial dealings with Iran and Iranian companies. This is a brutal economic hit for Iran. In

2013, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said that Iran was losing $4 to $8 billion a

month due to embargoes and sanctions. Thus, it puts a pressure on Iran which it would never

have given in to. If they can survive their economic downturn and develop a nuclear weapon

then it can have a major impact on the world affairs as they currently are.

[16]