A Comparative Analysis of the Approaches of Russia, China and the United States of America Towards Iran's Nuclear Program

پژوهش نامه ایرانی سیاست بین الملل

Article 3, Volume 5, Issue 1, July 2016, Pages 25-55   

Document Type: مقالات

DOI: 10.22067/jipr.v5i1.54431

Authors

mohammad ali basiri; hassan ainehvand^*

isfahan

Abstract

Abstract
After more than a decade of the dispute over Iranian nuclear program, finally this delicate issue came to an end through the signing of a nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 members. Russia, China and the United States are the main actors in Iranian nuclear case; whose role in relation to this case is undeniable. The United States with its pressure, threats and sanctions was trying to prevent Iran from obtaining the nuclear power. Introducing this program as a threat for international peace and security is the Washington policy to legitimize its actions against Iran, but Russia and China's approaches are different in nature. These two countries on one hand, in coordination with the West fears of Iran's nuclear power and on the other hand by defining themselves as pro-Iran, have taken ambiguous stances. The findings of this study show that the most important element affecting the politics of Moscow and Beijing in dealing with this crisis is Russia's and China's strategic relations with the United States. The main question of this paper is what factors influenced the foreign policy of the three countries in dealing with the nuclear issue? The main hypothesis of this study is that Russia and China rely on legal grounds in their opposition and have pragmatic strategic and tactical interactions with Iran in order to ensure their interests but the United States, in addition to legal-political restrictions imposed on Iran deals with ideological tensions against Iran. However all three countries have strategic relationship with each other, they have tactical relationship with Iran and they are against Iran becoming a nuclear power. This paper analyzes the research data by a comparative qualitative method.

Keywords

Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear program; Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action; Russia; China; U.S.A

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