An Essay on US-Iranian Relations in the Context of the Iranian Nuclear Program

Need help with assignments?

Our qualified writers can create original, plagiarism-free papers in any format you choose (APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc.)

Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.

Click Here To Order Now

The protesters seized the placards with the phrase No war to Iran, and condemned US President Donald Trump’s order to assassinate Iranian Top Commander Qassem Soleimani, considered the 2nd highest leader in Iran.

The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most engaging issues in the Middle East today. The US and its allies accuse Iran of building nuclear weapons, but Irans stance is firm that the only reason why they are developing a nuclear program is to harness it to generate electricity to provide fuel for their medical reactors so that they will not splurge into using its valuable oil resources and instead prefers it to sell abroad. As President Ahmadinejad said, the argument over Irans nuclear program was a political issue rather than a legal matter and needs to be resolved politically. Most of the repatriated workers are skilled. To the extent that they displace workers at home who would otherwise be employed if they remained abroad, there could be an impact on domestic employment volume. A further impact at home is on the level of output and the net impact on the balance of payments (affected by the labor market disruption). It can be hypothesized that initially, the employment of displaced OFWs at home could lead to lower incomes generated at home compared to their contribution through remittances. OFWs working abroad work with higher capital-intensive support in production so that they have higher labor productivity than workers at home. That also explains why average wages at home are much lower, because the economy lacks sufficient capital investments. Hence, their net contribution to growth and to incomes would be lower, even if, in the end, they might contribute toward a higher GDP. Displacements of new labor thus repatriated could have an impact on the domestic labor market. Hence, the Philippine OFW story could be impacted severely. The disruption of employment opportunities in the Middle East would produce large ripples depending on their severity. There would be consequences on the volume of remittances flowing into the country, there will be additional costs on the government to help repatriate Filipinos stranded in the war in the Middle East, and the arrival of unemployed OFWs could cause a competition for jobs at home.

The US foreign-policy environment is now concentrating on giving a lot of publicity to the Middle East questions of independence and other possibilities. Most Americans believe they are bona fide pro-democratic players, but the suffering fact remains that many around the globe are still not purchasing what they say. Issues of credibility will continue to haunt even the well-intentioned efforts of the US to support genuine political change in the Arab region. ran used to be a powerful ally of the United States during the Cold War, and expressly provided support against the Soviet Union. The US government, in their desire to restore democracy in Iran went to the point of supporting the very unpopular regime of the Shah of Iran. It was during the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini that Americans got their first glimpse of radical Islam.

Iran’s nuclear program concerns not only the US, but the world as well. Sometimes there are predictions that they will go to war, but even the US-Iranian relationship is engulfed by tension. They did so in conjunction with the march of thousands of people to Iraq and Iran who mourned the death of their leader and colleagues. The Iranian government has promised a great deal of retaliation, which is why the assassination of Soleimani has only worsened. Irans right to a nuclear program on the basis that it is for peaceful purposes worries government around the world and the dilemma is that, it is difficult to distinguish between the good atoms used for nuclear power and the bad atoms used for nuclear weapons. To solve the issue, world leaders are pushing Iran to source their nuclear fuel from other countries instead of making the fuel by itself. And besides, if Iran really wanted nuclear weapons, it’s intended to provide for its own security and secure its own self-preservation. Iran being the third biggest oil producing nation, economies around the world are closely monitoring the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Uninterrupted oil supply and a steady price is a critical part not only for the US economy but also for other world economies. During this period of transformation of the Middle East, or some referred to as the Arab Spring, democratic protests in several countries threatened or even toppled long-term leaders, most of them associated with the US. Being a regional power, Iran has been observed to be opening its doors to these countries to extend their influence across Middle East. Overall, the US policy toward Iran is a key issue in the US foreign policy today. They should not complicate the issue and possible address the issues on the US-Iranian agenda, like human rights and terrorism at the same time with the nuclear issue. After Iran fired 22 missiles at Iraqi military bases attached to American troops, the Iranian foreign minister tweeted saying they had done ‘enough vengeance’ on the United States, and that they had no interest in fighting back. Iran answers Iran’s assassination of Iranian general Qasem Suleimani, who they acknowledge is a respected official who contributed greatly to the destruction of Isis in Syria, but is considered a US terrorist. But according to Special Envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu, there are signs he is not done yet.

The current issue involving the US and Iran especially its nuclear program is an issue that has to be addressed with extreme caution. The Philippines being an ally of the US should be keen about the growing issue and if given the chance to recommend any policies to the US, I recommend scaling back tensions and avoiding war. Irans having a nuclear program is a threat that was blown out of proportion. The issue here is not Irans having a nuclear weapon but the risk of dragging the United States again to wage a costly war in this highly volatile region. The collateral damage is catastrophic and outweighs the risk of Irans nuclear arms capabilities. On the other hand, even if Iran happens to acquire nuclear weapons, it is the last option they will resort to do because several countries in the past seventy years that have acquired nuclear weapons but none of them so far has used it since 1945. We should therefore persuade the US to change its position towards Iran and also all its allies to do the same. The use force or any military covert action will only escalate the tension and promotes war.

Based my opinion it’s not done yet. There could be something bigger that will happen. Not so, the situation is too unpredictable. It remains the only reason why our country is keeping economic transaction with Iran. The Philippines in 2006 purchased at an average of 110,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran and in 2008, Iran agreed to invest $125 million in the petrochemical market. According to an Iranian trade official, the value of non-oil exports from Iran to the Philippines stood at $83 million in 2009. In 2009, the bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $370 million with the potential for growth on both sides. The Philippine governments should support Irans right to use peaceful nuclear energy. The current problem on the rising of hydrocarbon prices is a green light for all countries to be able to access civilian nuclear energy. The Philippine stand is to supports Irans right to access peaceful nuclear technology under the safeguards of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Need help with assignments?

Our qualified writers can create original, plagiarism-free papers in any format you choose (APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, etc.)

Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.

Click Here To Order Now