Iran-A Pivotal State
The United States falls into the category of being major state which means that it exercises significant power and influence on the international scene. Iran, on the other hand, is described as a pivotal state. This simply means that it lies in between the weak and major states. Here, it lacks power to play a major role globally but does have a certain level of power in its region away from manipulation from major states. Iran’s regional power has led to conflict between it and the U.S. especially where nuclear weapons are concerned. Ever since 1979 when Iran's government was replaced by an anti-American theocratic regime, it and the United States have been clashing. This has been due mainly to Iran's nuclear weapons program. The U.S. and other major powers believe that since Iran is such a radical regime it will use its nuclear weapons irresponsibly by sharing them with terrorists or attacking Israel (Snow). Iranians deny this premise and argue that they comply fully with international guidelines. U.S. opposition to the Iranian program has become nationalistic. Due to the lack of influence the U.S. has in the region the Obama administration chose to reverse President Bush's way of handling Iran which was simply just ignoring the state. A nuclear deal was proposed to curb Iran's nuclear program regarding arms trafficking and ballistic missile capabilities, etc. The new deadline for this deal is set for Monday, July 13, 2015 as the previous July 10th deadline was passed without the major states and Iran reaching an agreement. Snow, Donald M. Cases in International Relations. Sixth ed. Boston: Pearson Longman, 2012. Print. http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/politics/iran-nuclear-talks-obama-deadline/ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/11/iran-and-world-powers-give-themselves-72-hours-to-clinch-nuclear-deal