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| | US Confrontation with Iran Open-Content investigative project managed by mtuck
This is the home page for the US Confrontation with Iran investigative project, one of several grassroots investigations being hosted on the History Commons website. The data published as part of this investigation has been collected, organized, and published by members of the public who are registered users of this website.
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Timelines
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Events Recently Added to the US Confrontation with Iran timeline
- 8/17
- Wilson’s Report on Nigerien Uranium Claims May Have Indicated Iran, Not Iraq, Tried to Buy Uranium, February 13, 2006, posted by mtuck
- 3/28
- Iranian Arms Dealer Uses Congressman to Propel Fabricated Story of Iranian Theft of Iraqi Uranium, March 7, 2003 and After, posted by mtuck
- 2/19
- Media Learns Iranian Arms Dealer Attempted to Fabricate Story of Stolen Uranium Involving Iraq, Iran, January 11, 2006, posted by mtuck
- 9/17
- CIA Manager Warns US Knows Little about Shah of Iran, (1976), posted by KJF
- 8/13
- GOP Congressmen Meet with Iranian Disinformation Peddlers, Advance Unsupported Allegations of Iranian Terror Plans, Mid-July 2005, posted by mtuck
More Timeline entries sorted by the month they were published
What's New?
8/10/2009 More Coverage Needed
A recent spate of entries has once again moved this project forward, covering both the Larry Franklin/AIPAC information-passing prosecutions and Bush-era concerns that destabilizing Iran would lead to further instability in the Middle East. Much remains to be done in this project. We welcome your contributions. |
Recently Added Events
Showing 21-40 of 100 recently added events: previous 20 next 20 - 3/1
- White House Ignores Offer of Diplomatic Relations with Iran, Begins Efforts to Destabilize Regime, Late May 2003, posted by mtuck
- 3/1
- Powell Admits Failure in Selling Iranian ‘Grand Bargain’, Mid-April 2003, posted by mtuck
- 3/1
- Rice: Diplomatic Engagement with Iran Useless, April 2002, posted by mtuck
- 3/1
- Bush Administration Blames Iran for Helping Al-Qaeda Bomb Saudi Arabian Targets; No Evidence of Iranian Complicity, May 12, 2003, posted by mtuck
- 2/27
- Bush Refuses to Open Negotiations with Iran Over Nukes, October 30, 2002, posted by mtuck
- 2/27
- Bush Publicly Supports Anti-Government Rebels in Iran, July 2002, posted by mtuck
- 2/24
- ’Ultra-Conservative’ Becomes President of Iran, August 3, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 2/24
- Iran Resumes Converting Uranium into Plutonium, Late July 2005, posted by mtuck
- 2/24
- US Again Refuses to Take Part in Negotiations with Iran, January 2004, posted by mtuck
- 2/22
- Iranians Offer Assistance to US in War with Taliban, Late Fall-Early Winter 2001, posted by mtuck
- 2/21
- Iranian Diplomat Offers Backchannel Support for US after 9/11 Attacks, September 11, 2001, posted by mtuck
- 2/21
- Iran Offers Diplomatic Relations with US, Fall 2001, posted by mtuck
- 2/20
- Bush: Iran Added to ‘Axis of Evil’ to Confront Evil, Promote Freedom, After January 29, 2002, posted by mtuck
- 2/18
- US to Engage in ‘Direct Diplomacy’ with Iran, Seek Engagement Concerning Afghanistan, January 26, 2009, posted by mtuck
- 10/12
- Vice President Bush Secretly Pressures Hussein to Escalate Air Strikes Into Iran, July 28-August 3, 1986, posted by mtuck
- 10/12
- Vice President Bush Meets with Middle East Leaders to Pressure Iran in Hostage Negotiations, July 28-August 3, 1986, posted by mtuck
- 8/23
- US Naval Vessel Shoots down Iranian Civilian Aircraft, Killing 290, July 3, 1988, posted by mtuck
- 8/10
- Cheney, Rumsfeld Lobby for Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, 1976, posted by KJF
- 7/23
- Pentagon Allegedly Fails to Provide Potentially Life-Saving Information to US Intelligence Agencies, according to Unreliable Sources, After December 9, 2001, posted by mtuck
- 7/16
- Neoconservative Tells Bush He Must Bomb Iran to ‘Prevent Another Holocaust’, Spring 2007, posted by mtuck
Showing 21-40 of 100 recently added events: previous 20 next 20
Recently Updated Events
Showing 1-20 of 100 recently updated events: next 20 - 6/21
- US, Iranian Diplomats Have Brief, Cordial Meeting, March 31, 2009, posted by mtuck
- 4/9
- Bush Labels Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an ‘Axis of Evil,’ Ending Cooperation with Iran, January 29, 2002, posted by mtuck
- 11/18
- Defense Officials Attend Secret Backchannel Meeting with Iranians, December 9, 2001, posted by mtuck
- 10/7
- CIA Director: Vice President Should Ask Hussein to Increase Bombing of Iran, July 23, 1986, posted by mtuck
- 8/19
- McFarlane and North Visit Iran to Negotiate Arms for Hostages, Late May, 1986, posted by mtuck
- 8/11
- Iranians Seek More US Arms, Take More Hostages, September 19, 1986, posted by mtuck
- 7/2
- Vice President Cheney Travels to Pakistan to Meet with Pakistani President Musharraf, February 26, 2007, posted by Paul
- 12/30
- Bush Warns of ‘Consequences’ to Iran if It Continues Working on Nukes, June 19, 2007, posted by mtuck
- 12/30
- National Intelligence Estimate Finds Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Halted Since 2003, December 3, 2007, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Bush Orders Pentagon to Draw Up Plans to Bomb Iran, 2006, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- State Department: No Plans to Open Diplomatic Contacts with Iran, October 6, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Britain Accuses Iran of Helping Transfer Technology to Iraq’s Mahdi Army, October 5, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Women’s Organizations Protest Britain’s Opposition of Iranian Nuclear Program, October 3, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Iran Will Not Withdraw from Gas Deal with India, September 28, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Britain: No Plans to Attack Iran, September 28, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Rice Wants China, Russia, India to Join in Sanctions Against Iran, September 10, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- State Department Official: Iran’s Energy Contracts with China Escalate Tensions With US, September 6, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Kurdish Activist Killed by Iranian Security, July 9, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- British Consortium to Build Iranian Gas Refinery, June 23, 2005, posted by mtuck
- 12/21
- Pro-Monarchist Iranians Arrested, June 17, 2005, posted by mtuck
Showing 1-20 of 100 recently updated events: next 20
The Bush administration appears determined to topple the theocratic regime in Iran, which has been in power since the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed Pahlavi monarchy. Rather than have a repeat of the disastrous occupation in Iraq, the Bush administration seems to favor a regime-change strategy that rests on the promotion of instability in Iran in order to trigger an internal coup that would replace the current regime with a leadership more favorable to US interests.
The Bush administration’s official reason for confronting Iran is that the country has a nuclear weapons program. Under this pretext, the administration has moved forward with plans that could eventually lead to either US covert interference in Iran’s politics or direct military strikes that would weaken Iran’s military to the point that dissident groups could move in, rally public support and replace the government.
While the rationale for a nuclear-free region may appear sound on the surface there are indications that the United States’ confrontation with Iran has more to do with Iran’s growing role as a regional power. Recently, Iran has signed on to a number of powerful alliances in the region. In 2005, it joined Pakistan and India in an observer status role to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). (The SCO is a group of countries that includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan who are developing strategies to limit US hegemony in the region.) Iran has also formed several economic partnerships with the member-states of the SCO as well as with Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India—countries that may be unwilling to support a US intervention that might ultimately threaten their energy security.
At stake is control over the energy supplies of China, Japan, and the countries of Southeast Asia. If the US emerges as the winner in this geopolitical struggle, it will gain substantial political and economic leverage over this region.
If anyone is interested in contributing to this project, please contact us.
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