A Research On The Trump Administration’s Iran Nuclear Policy From The Perspective Of Containment Strategy

Since Trump was elected US President,the Trump administration has changed the Engagement policy of the Obama administration on the Iranian nuclear issue and adopted a tough and hostile containment policy.The most obvious manifestation is that Trump has been critical of the Iran nuclear agreement,unilaterally announced withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018,and reactivated comprehensive sanctions against Iran.So far,the Iranian nuclear policy of the Trump administration has taken shape,which is the embodiment of containment strategy.Containment strategy uses a “non-full-scale war”,including military,political,diplomatic,economic,cultural and other means that can be mobilized and controlled to impede the expansion of the opponent,curb its influence,and eventually make the opponent cancel the intention of “expansion”.Containment strategy contains five basic connotations: containment,deterrence,coercion,prevention and liberation.On the one hand,a country uses these five basic means to contain its adversary;on the other hand,these five connotations are interrelated and act in a comprehensive way,so as to achieve the purpose of canceling the adversary’s intention of expansion.As for the Trump administration’s Iran nuclear policy,it is embodied in the following five aspects: appointing people who are tough on Iran;To withdraw from the JCPOA;Reinstating sanctions against Iran;Curbing Iran’s regional influence;Incite anti-government forces in Iran.It can be seen that the Trump administration also uses all kinds of resources and means except “non-full-scale war” to prevent Iran’s expansion,curb the growth of Iran’s influence,cancel its intention of expansion.The Trump administration is trying to contain Iran through diplomatic containment,military deterrence,economic sanctions,preventive action,and breaking the status quo.It is also trying to contain Iran through a combination of these five tools.Therefore,on the one hand,the Trump administration’s Iran nuclear policy is the embodiment of containment strategy;on the other hand,it is also aimed at containingthe rise of Iran.In other words,containment in this paper is both a means and an end.The Trump administration’s Iran nuclear policy has opened a Pandora’s box,which has inevitably brought negative effects to Iran,the Middle East and the nuclear non-proliferation regime.At the same time,against the background of Trump’s 2020 election campaign,the plight of the widespread outbreak and spread of the epidemic in the US and the long-term hostile environment between the US and Iran,there will be no qualitative change in the Trump administration’s Iran nuclear policy in the future.