Report of an Independent Task Force Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have positioned American troops along Iran’s borders, making the United States and Iran wary competitors and neighbors who nonetheless possess overlapping interests. Meanwhile, questions continue to be raised about Iran’s nuclear program and its involvement with terrorism. Clearly, contending with Iran will constitute one of the most complex and pressing challenges facing future U.S. administrations. This informative report in 2005, which sparked sharp debate in Washington and extensive coverage by U.S. and international media, offers a timely new approach.
Rejecting the conventional wisdom that Iran is on the verge of another revolution, the report calls for the United States to reassess its long-standing policy of non-engagement with the current Iranian government. The product of an independent Task Force chaired by Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter’s national security adviser, and Robert M. Gates, director of central intelligence during the George H.W. Bush administration, the report highlights several areas in which U.S. interests would be better served by selective engagement with Tehran, and breaks with current U.S. policy by encouraging a new strategy.
This report focuses on developments inside Iran, tapping into the Task Force members’ extensive expertise on Iranian politics and society. It includes a comprehensive chronology of important dates in U.S.-Iranian history, economic and demographic facts about Iran, and reference materials on Iranian state institutions and governance.
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IMPORTANT DATES IN U.S.-IRANIAN HISTORY :
January 16, 1979 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran on the heels of mass demonstrations and strikes.
February 1, 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile.
November 4, 1979 Iranian students seize 63 hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
April 25, 1980 A secret U.S. military mission to rescue hostages ends in disaster in a sandstorm in a central Iranian desert.
July 27, 1980 Exiled shah dies of cancer in Egypt.
September 22, 1980 Iraq declares war against Iran.
January 20, 1981 As President Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, Iran releases the remaining 52 American hostages after 444 days of detention.
January 20, 1984 The United States declares Iran a sponsor of international terrorism, making Iran ineligible for various forms of U.S. foreign assistance.
1985–86 Washington and Tehran engage in a complex scheme to fund assistance to Nicaraguan rebels through proceeds of U.S. weapons sales to Iran.
August 1986 The United States prohibits Iran from receiving U.S. arms (including spare parts) under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.
1987–88 Hostilities between Tehran and Baghdad draw in neighbors and international shippers.
The United States and Iran engage in open and direct conflict in the “tanker war.”
Iran:Time for a New Approach
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October 29, 1987 President Reagan signs Executive Order 12613, which bans U.S. imports of Iranian crude
oil and all other Iranian imports because of Iran’s support for terrorism and its threat to maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf.
July 3, 1988 USS Vincennes mistakenly shoots down an Iran Air Airbus over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people on board.
July 20, 1988 Iran formally accepts UN Resolution 598, calling for a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq, ending its war with Iraq.
January 20, 1989 In his inaugural speech, President George H. W. Bush refers to U.S. hostages in Lebanon and adds (in what was interpreted as an overture to Iran), “Assistance can be
shown here, and will be long remembered. Good will begets good will.”
June 3, 1989 Ayatollah Khomeini dies. Hojjatoleslam Ali Khamenei, who has served two terms as
president, is appointed supreme leader.Two months later, Hashemi Rafsanjani is sworn in as Iran’s president.
1990–91 Iran remains neutral in U.S.-led Operation Desert Storm.
October 1992 Iran-Iraq Arms Nonproliferation Act is signed into law.
March 5, 1995 U.S. oil company Conoco signs a $1 billion deal to develop Iranian oil fields, the first such contract since the 1979 revolution; Conoco
subsequently backs out of the deal after strenuous objections in Washington.
March 15, 1995 President Bill Clinton issues Executive Order 12957, banning U.S. investment in Iran’s energy sector.
May 6, 1995 President Clinton issues Executive Order 12959, banning U.S. trade and investment in Iran
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