Dehghanpisheh, B. (2020). Iran says it will quit global nuclear treaty if the case goes to U.N. Reuters. Web.
The article titled “Iran Says It Will Quit Global Nuclear Treaty if the Case Goes to U.N.” by Dehghanpisheh (2020) covers the 2020 circumstances and events around arguments and misunderstandings between the U.S. and Iran. The article highlights the severity of the general situation and the readiness of the Iranian government to progress from threats to actions. It also explains the main aspects and matters over which Donald Trump and Iranian authorities disagreed.
This article informs my topic of nuclear diplomacy in Iran 2010-2023 by shedding light on the state of their negotiation in 2020. According to Dehghanpisheh (2020), several members of the 2015 pack signed by Iran indicated that the country had violated it and expressed their intentions to refer the case to the Security Council and the U.N. However, Iran declared its readiness to withdraw from the NPT if the case was actually sent to the Council. The article allows us to understand that other NPT members were not satisfied with Iran’s actions and perceived them as a violation, demanding a fair investigation. On the other hand, Iran saw these states behaving improperly and fostering Trump’s “maximum pressure (Dehghanpisheh, 2020). Therefore, it is valuable to get an idea of all parties in this 2020 conflict.
The author does not provide any hypothesis but strives to inform the audience, referring to publicly available materials and reporting recent events in a non-judgmental and objective manner. Therefore, the methodology used by Dehghanpisheh (2020) is explanatory and descriptive, and it is likely that the author used observation and literature review as data collection methods. The main finding is that Iran does not believe its actions are violating; although it wishes the pact to survive, it is ready to withdraw from the NPT, and Trump’s harsh policy contributes to this. Thus, the report concludes that there is a vast misunderstanding between the states, and the actions of the American government failed to turn the situation to a positive course. I find this statement logical because the author refers to actual events and supports the conclusion with explanations and these countries’ representatives’ quotes.
Mirza, M. N., Abbas, H., & Qaisrani, I. H. (2022). The Iranian nuclear program: Dynamics of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), American unisolationism and European apprehensions. Journal of European Studies, 38(01), 14–32. Web.
The journal article titled “The Iranian Nuclear Programme: Dynamics of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), American Unisolationism and European Apprehensions” addresses the concerns and threats of the Iranian nuclear program. Thus, Mirza et al. (2022) describe the purpose and nature of the country’s nuclear developments and the pact that it signed with the U.N. participants. Furthermore, the authors also explore the issues and risks faced by the U.S. and the European countries prior to and after signing the deal. This article is highly beneficial and informative because it sheds light on several aspects of Iran’s willingness to develop its nuclear power.
When getting acquainted with the study, it is possible to understand the authors’ hypothesis that a few factors strengthen the distrust between the states, and not only Iran but also European allies are harmed by the U.S. sanctions. This hypothesis is proved by facts, and one main finding is that both security and ideology aspects make Iran insist on its own nuclear program. The country needs to feel stronger and more powerful in the hostile regional environment, and its previous revolutionary perspective now makes the state skeptical toward Western suggestions and actions (Mirza et al., 2022). The authors also find that other European countries indeed experience difficulty with the U.S. sanctions imposed against Iran because the latter plays a great role in their business matters.
The article’s methodology is a literature review, synthesizing previous findings on the topic. After outlining the major factors and events surrounding the Iranian nuclear program and the conflicts associated with it, Mirza et al. (2022) conclude that there is potential for strengthened trust between the countries. Following the information offered in the article, I am not sure I can agree with this conclusion. While peaceful cooperation is indeed needed, it is doubtful that robust trust can be established through constant surveillance.
Sanger, D. E., & Landler, M. (2010). Major powers have deal on sanctions for Iran. The New York Times. Web.
In their article titled “Major Powers Have Deal on Sanctions for Iran,” Sanger and Landler (2010) outline the events that happened in 2010 during the ongoing conflict between the U.N. participants and Iran. The authors focus on the role of Russia, the U.S., and China in the intention to impose additional sanctions against Iran, considering the latter’s inappropriate actions. Precisely this emphasis on the position of other states, such as Russia, makes this article valuable to exploring the topic, and it also covers the events of 2010, which is the beginning of Iran’s nuclear diplomacy.
This piece is informative in its nature, so the authors do not offer any hypotheses but raise awareness about recent events, and the article’s methodology is descriptive and explanatory, including information review and observation methods. Sanger and Landler (2010) find that the U.S. was for harsher sanctions, while Russia and China were interested in cooperating with Iran and tried to build more trust between the countries, especially because previous sets of limitations were ineffective. The authors conclude that the newly imposed sanctions could be useful and beneficial because they were similar to those against North Korea. This conclusion sounds relevant and proven, which allows me to agree with it.