Iran Nuclear Deal: The Role of Iranian Media and Public Opinion R. Dicky Johar Pribadi and Annisa Pratamasari Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga Keywords: Level of Analysis, Foreign Policy, Iran, Nuclear Deal, Hassan Rouhani, Media, Public Opinion. Abstract: Level of analysis is one of the strategies that offered in the research methodologies to analyze the phenomenons in International Relations, including the study of foreign policy analysis. Then, one of some level of analysis is the role of media and public opinion. In this article, the author tries to apply the level of analysis with the role of media and public opinion to analyze Iran’s foreign policy under Hassan Rouhani’s regime regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or Nuclear Deal. Nuclear installation in Iran itself has been accused by international, espescially Western countries, as unsafe and non-transparent development. Iran then disclaimed and revealed that the development of nuclear in Iran is for peaceful purpose or not for nuclear weapons. As the result, there is so many international economic sanctions against Iran which then causing the domestic economic to be weak. Public opinion is then shaped by the mass media to encourage Rouhani’s regime to struggle for nuclear agreement internationally. Thus, the sanctions would be lifted soon. Rouhani itself succeed to take a decision on Nuclear Iran Deal in order to keep the constituents and his team supporters. 1 INTRODUCTION Iran's Nuclear Deal policy under the Hassan Rouhani regime using the level of analysis of the role of In essence, foreign policy analysis is one of the media and public opinion. major studies in International Relations. To understand foreign policy , the author borrowed Deborah Gerner's understanding in his article 2 THE DYNAMICS OF IRANIAN entitled The Evolution of Foreign Policy Analysis. NUCLEAR DEAL According to Gerner (1995: 18), foreign policy is "the intentions, statements, and actions of actor- The draft of nuclear development in Iran was often, but not always, a state-directed toward the originally formed in the 1950s. Precisely in external world and the response of these actors to November 1967, Iran built its first nuclear reactor these intentions, statements, and actions ". Thus, it under the US Atoms for Peace program (Arms can be seen that the intentions, statements, and Control, 2016). United States support is also actions that policymakers have made in response to increasingly visible when the superpower also the external world are the characteristics of foreign supplies a reactor with a power of five megawatts policy. In the study of foreign policy analysis itself, and uranium supply is high enough to 93 percent for the process of foreign policy making and the factors its operation. Iran's nuclear installation is then that influence it become a central focus of considered for the development of energy-based discussion. So that the coverage of foreign policy advanced technological advances. Iran's own discussion is easy to be analysed and not president, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlevi, said that overlapping, one of the methodology strategy is the target of nuclear capacity reaching up to 23,000 through Level of Analysis or level of analysis MWe is aimed at liberating oil and natural gas in the (Sulistyo, 2016). In this article, the author describes framework of export demand (World Nuclear, about the level of mass media analysis and public 2016). The nuclear installation in Iran then attracts opinion to clarify its use in foreign policy analysis. attention from multinational companies, such as In addition, the authors will also analyse a case Siemens KWU and Framatome, to support the study of Iran's foreign policy related to Iran's construction of nuclear power plants in the Persian Nuclear Framework Agreement or better known as Gulf region. Next, the Iranian parliament ratified the 555 Pribadi, R. and Pratamasari, A. Iran Nuclear Deal: The Role of Iranian Media and Public Opinion. DOI: 10.5220/0010280205550561 In Proceedings of Airlangga Conference on International Relations (ACIR 2018) - Politics, Economy, and Security in Changing Indo-Pacific Region, pages 555-561 ISBN: 978-989-758-493-0 Copyright c 2021 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved ACIR 2018 - Airlangga Conference on International Relations Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in February to stop the enrichment program for a given period of 1970 (Arms Control, 2016). Through this nuclear time. non-proliferation treaty itself, Iran is committed to The agreement between the five major countries using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes or with Germany and the European Union (P5 + 1) and not to use it to develop nuclear weapons possession. Iran was reached in the Iran Nuclear Framework But in early 1978, nuclear development in Iran had Agreement under the era of the Hassan Rouhani slowed down as the Shah Pahlavi regime began to regime which is considered a bit more cooperative lose its power in the Iranian government. In 1979, with the West, precisely in July 2015. The there was an Iranian Revolution which caused Iran agreement framework, also known as the Joint and US relations to stretch. Even during the Iranian Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is Revolution, there were 52 US diplomats held expected to ensure Iran's nuclear program hostage and only released after 444 days (Kerr, fundamental shift toward the development of 2016: 152). As a result, the United States sanctioned peaceful nuclear technology (Medium, 2015). The and severed its diplomatic ties with Iran. This countries involved in JCPOA are also optimistic that ultimately led to the development of nuclear in Iran the implementation of this agreement can positively had slowed down. contribute to regional and international peace and Furthermore, Iran's nuclear development security. In the JCPOA itself, it is mentioned that continued in the 1990s precisely in the era of the Iran's uranium reserves will be trimmed 98 percent Rafsanjani regime that had worked with China and in the next 15 years and will not produce plutonium Russia (World Nuclear, 2016). However, the (Antara news, 2015). Thus, it should hinder Iran cooperation did not last long. In fact, China's nuclear pursue for the latest technology for nuclear weapons. development cooperation was canceled before The sanctions given by the United Nations, the construction began. Some sentiments from the West United States and the European Union will then emerged when Iran was considered to be eventually lifted. The BBC (2016) itself reported developing its nuclear technology in secret and that some of the sanctions imposed on Iran have unsafe environment. Moreover, United States also paralyze Iran's economy of more than 160 million added Iran to the list of state sponsors of terrorism poundsterling only in oil revenues since 2012. (Arms Control, 2016). In later years, some Western Through this Iranian Nuclear Treaty Framework, countries were reluctant to work with Iran on unsafe Iran also able to re-sell its oil into the international nuclear development charges and the United States' market. assumption that the country is one of the axes of the world's crime (White House, 2016). The United States alone had issued the Iran Sanctions Act to cut 3 MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION US investment exceeding 20 million dollars in the Iranian energy sector. Ultimately, the International LEVEL OF ANALYSIS Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is encouraged to step in for inspection and further research on how Level of analysis often cited in a social scientific Iran's nuclear technology is developed. The IAEA research as a multilayered structure in a system. One forced Iran to stop any enrichment and nuclear of the academics of International Relations, Barry development process as long as Iran has not Buzan, defines the level of analysis as a set of provided any transparency regarding the material it interacting units within a structure (Buzan, 1995: uses (Arms Control, 2015). In 2006, Iran announced 202). The level of analysis in a social scientific the development of nuclear enrichment with study or International Relations Science is actually uranium. Western countries, including permanent not an obligation. However, the level of analysis is members of the United Nations Security Council believed to facilitate the choice of theory in (UN), are increasingly concerned about Iran's analysing the case studies that will be examined. In nuclear development. The United States in addition, the level of analysis is also considered to particular, considers that Iran is developing nuclear be able to make research more focused on the scope weapons because Iran has used material of uranium of the discussion or its explanandum and make a element is high enough and pure plutonium (White more comprehensive analysis(Sulistyo, 2016). Many House, 2016). As a result, countries in the UN academics of International Relations are classifying Security Council and Germany and the EU propose different levels of analysis. Just like David Singer establishing a framework agreement for Iran in order (1961: 80-82), which divides the level of analysis into two, namely the international system and the 556 Iran Nuclear Deal: The Role of Iranian Media and Public Opinion national state. Unlike Singer, Neack (2008 in of various uncertainties or alternatives (McQuail, Dharmaputra, 2016) classifies the broader level of 2000 in Subiakto & Ida, 2015: 131). analysis, ie individual, system, and state. In Neack argument of analysis, state level of analysis includes domestic institutions, culture, as 4 MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION well as public opinion and the media. Public opinion and media are considered to be one of the most AND THE IRAN DEAL important levels of analysis and are not spared in analyzing foreign policy. Public opinion itself is an Iran is an Islamic republic located in the Persian external attitude of the community that is conveyed Gulf.