Anatomy of the Convergence of the European Troika with the United States in Confronting Iran

Abstract

With the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the common threat that had strengthened the alliance between the two sides of the Atlantic, a great vacuum was created in the relations between the European Troika and the United States. Since then, they have had differences of opinion in some cases and in other cases they have filled the void caused by the absence of the Soviet Union and have interacted with each other in such a way that some important international issues such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, human rights, and the Middle East peace process and especially Iran's nuclear program have occupied a significant amount of the foreign policy of the European troika and the United States. The way the parties face the Islamic Republic has always been one of the challenging issues in the transatlantic relations, in which the two sides have sometimes coordinated and converged in relation to it, and at times have had differences and divergences. The main question of the article is raised as follows: What are the main reasons for the convergence of the European troika with the United States in confronting Iran? In response, we can put forward the hypothesis that the reasons include the development of Iran's missile weapons and the suspension of the JCPOA, Iran's support for the resistance movement and proxy groups, and the Islamic Republic's opposition to the survival of the Zionist regime. The findings of the research indicate that according to the theory of convergence and based on the realist and power-oriented approach, national interests are the main essence of international politics and power is also considered the main tool in achieving goals. According to such a view, the European troika and the United States have convergent positions only in cases where their national interests require it, and that is the case of Iran.