زلزله و کمک های بشردوستانه در تعاملات جمهوری اسلامی ایران و آمریکا

نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسنده
استاد تمام پژوهشگاه بین‌المللی زلزله‌شناسی و مهندسی زلزله
چکیده
رابطه ایالات متحده با ایران پس از زلزه های بزرگ (به‌ویژه در سال‌های ۱۳۶۹، ۱۳۸۲ و ۱۳۹۶) به عنوان یک ابزار دیپلماتیک بالقوه عمل کرده و لحظات کوتاهی از فرصت را برای گفتگو و کاهش تنش ایجاد کرده است. با فقدان تقریباً کامل روابط دیپلماتیک آمریکا با ایران از سال ۱۹۸۰ پس از بحران گروگان گیری و اشغال سفارت آمریکا در تهران کانال‌های ارتباطی مستقیم قطع شدند. ایالات متحده تحریم‌های گسترده‌ای را اعمال کرد و هر نوع تبادل مالی یا مادی، از جمله کمک‌های بشردوستانه را پیچیده کرد. استثناً شامل پیشنهادهای کمک‌های بشردوستانه بی‌قید و شرط یکی از معدود اقدامات مثبتی بود که ایالات متحده می‌توانست انجام دهد. همچنین بر اساس رخداد زمین لرزه های مهم در ایران همکاری های علمی در زمینه زلزله شناسی و مهندسی زلزله نیز بین آمریکا و ایران رخ داده است. این لحظات در نهایت تحت الشعاع بی‌اعتمادی ‌ژرف ، مخالفت ایدئولوژیک و درگیری‌های ژئوپلیتیکی گسترده‌تری قرار گرفته‌اند. پاسخ دولت ایران به این پیشنهادات، معیاری برای پویایی سیاسی داخلی آن بوده است که اغلب منعکس‌کننده چالش بین نیاز عملی در هنگام سوانح و ایدئولوژی ضد آمریکایی انقلابی است. پیشنهادات کمک، گشایش‌های موقتی را فراهم می‌کردند، اما نتوانستند هیچ ذوب پایداری برای یخ روابط فی مابین ایجاد کنند و در عوض موانع ‌ژرف آشتی را برجسته کردند. فرضیه اصلی این ایده است که سوانح طبیعی می‌توانند فرصت‌هایی برای همکاری بین کشورهای درگیر به ویژه برای اهداف بشردوستانه-ایجاد کنند.
کلیدواژه‌ها

عنوان مقاله English

Earthquake and Humanitarian Aid in Interactions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States

نویسنده English

Mehdi ZARE
Full Professor, International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering
چکیده English

The humanitarian relationship between the United States and Iran during earthquakes, despite the extensive diplomatic challenges, is a complex and contradictory pattern of “disaster diplomacy.” Following major earthquakes in Iran—such as the Sar-e-Pul-e-Zahab earthquake of 2017—the United States has offered technical assistance, equipment, and manpower, and has sometimes temporarily relaxed sanctions to facilitate relief efforts. This assistance has generally been channeled through NGOs or the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and has been less direct and bilateral. This assistance has sometimes improved the atmosphere for dialogue momentarily—for example, the exchange of messages through the Swiss side in the Bam earthquake—but it has never led to a lasting dialogue or a major diplomatic opening. Deep mistrust and macro-geopolitical issues—such as the nuclear program, regional patronage, sanctions—quickly overshadowed any temporary warmth and returned relations to their previous hostile state. This paradox (offering aid on the one hand and creating structural obstacles on the other) has meant that US aid has often taken a ceremonial form and has had limited operational impact. In the absence of strong political will, stable institutional mechanisms and fundamental trust-building, these moments of cooperation can rarely become a bridge to resolve geopolitical differences.

کلیدواژه‌ها English

Earthquake
Humanitarian
Search
Rescue
Iran
USA
American Red Cross. (n.d.). Iran and Iraq earthquake: Red Crescent teams provide lifesaving aid. https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/Iran-and-Iraq-Earthquake-Red-Crescent-teams-provide-lifesaving-aid.html
U.S. Air Force. (n.d.). Airmen provide aid to Iran. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/137889/airmen-provide-aid-to-iran/
Kelman, I. (n.d.). Iran/USA disaster diplomacy. Disaster Diplomacy. https://www.disasterdiplomacy.org/iranusa.html
U.S. Department of State. (2006). U.S. assistance to Iran following Bam earthquake (Taken question). https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/63977.htm
American Iranian Council. (2025). Media guide: Earthquakes in Iran. http://www.us-iran.org/resources/2021/6/25/media-guide-earthquakes
American Military University. (n.d.). US–Iran relations: A complex history of conflict and change. https://www.amu.apus.edu/area-of-study/legal-studies/resources/us-iran-relations/ Seismological Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid and Its Role in USA-Iran Relations After the Earthquakes of 1980
Atlantic Council. (n.d.). Iranians respond to earthquake but government falls short. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/iranians-respond-to-earthquake-but-government-falls-short/
Brookings Institution. (n.d.). 1979: Iran and America. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/1979-iran-and-america/
EBSCO. (2025). Massive quake rocks Iran. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/earth-and-atmospheric-sciences/massive-quake-rocks-iran
EBSCO. (n.d.). Bam earthquake. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/earth-and-atmospheric-sciences/bam-earthquake
Foreign Policy Association. (n.d.). U.S. offers Iran quake aid, Iran says “no thanks”. https://fpa.org/u-s-offers-iran-quake-aid-iran-says-no-thanks/
Gaillard, J. C., et al. (2019). The dilemmas of disaster diplomacy. Progress in Disaster Science.
George Washington University. (n.d.). 50 years later: Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China. GW Today. https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/50-years-later-richard-nixons-historic-visit-china
History.com Editors. (n.d.). How Nixon’s 1972 visit to China changed the balance of Cold War power. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/nixon-china-visit-cold-war
Kelman, I., & Koukis, T. (2000). Analyzing disaster diplomacy. Journal of International Affairs.
Khan, S. (2009). Disaster diplomacy in South Asia: The case of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. Geopolitics.
Mangone, E. (2018). Disaster diplomacy: A narrative analysis of the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.
Office of the Historian. (n.d.). China policy – Milestones in the history of U.S. foreign relations. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/china-policy
Office of the Historian. (n.d.). Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XIII, Soviet Union, October 1970–October 1971 (Document 283). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v13/d283
Office of the Historian. (n.d.). Rapprochement with China, 1972 – Milestones in the history of U.S. foreign relations. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/rapprochement-china
Relief Web. (n.d.). Iran: Bam earthquake – Five years later. https://reliefweb.int/report/iran-islamic-republic/iran-bam-earthquake-five-years-later
ReliefWeb. (n.d.). U.S. charities supplement U.S. official relief for Iranian earthquake. https://reliefweb.int/report/iran-islamic-republic/us-charities-supplement-us-official-relief-iranian-earthqu6789ake
Sadeghi, M. M., & Tavana, H. (2009). The politics of humanitarian aid: The case of the 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran. Disaster Prevention and Management.
Seismological Society of America. (n.d.). Frank Press. https://www.seismosoc.org/award-recipient/frank-press/
Stimson Center. (2024). US‑Iran health diplomacy: De‑escalation through humanitarian action. https://www.stimson.org/2024/us-iran-health-diplomacy-de-escalation-through-humanitarian-action/
U.S. Department of State. (2007). United States–China science and technology cooperation. https://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/96437.pdf
U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran. (2025). Policy & history. https://ir.usembassy.gov/policy-history/
University of Oregon. (n.d.). The China–U.S. relationship in science and technology. https://china-us.uoregon.edu/pdf/China-US relationship in Science and Technology.pdf
The Washington Post. (1990, June 30). Mutual animosity complicates U.S. aid for Iran quake victims. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/06/30/mutual-animosity-complicates-us-aid-for-iran-quake-victims/e533c82e-276c-450a-9e08-8287baae6938/
The White House. (2003, December 27). U.S. to deploy humanitarian assistance to people of Iran. https://georgewbush whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/12/text/20031227-1.html
The White House. (2003, December 31). Statement by the deputy press secretary. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/12/text/20031231-1.html