Taiwan

● Taiwan is a key U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific. Though the United States does not have
diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we have a robust unofficial relationship. The United
States and Taiwan share similar values, deep commercial and economic links, and strong
people-to-people ties, which form the bedrock of our friendship and serve as the impetus
for expanding U.S. engagement with Taiwan.
● Taiwan has become an important U.S. partner in trade and investment, health,
semiconductor and other critical supply chains, investment screening, science and
technology, education, and advancing democratic values.
● The United States has a longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan
Relations Act, the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances. We
oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support
Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful
means. We continue to have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan
Strait. Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, the United States makes available
defense articles and services as necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient
self-defense capability -– and maintains our capacity to resist any resort to force or other
forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of
Taiwan.
● Taiwan is the United States’ eighth-largest trading partner, and the United States is
Taiwan’s second-largest trading partner. U.S. exports of goods and services to Taiwan
supported an estimated 188,000 American jobs in 2019.
● The United States will continue to support Taiwan’s membership in international
organizations where statehood is not a requirement and encourage Taiwan’s meaningful
participation in organizations where its membership is not possible.
● Republic of China vs. People’s Republic of China
● PRC claims Taiwan as a province and refuses diplomatic relations
● The PRC is recognized as having the sovereignty of all of China, including Taiwan.
Therefore, the PRC believes that it is within its legal rights to extend its jurisdiction to
Taiwan by military means if at all necessary.
● The PRC now emphasizes that "both Taiwan and the mainland belong to one and same
China".
● However, official PRC media outlets and officials often refer to Taiwan as "China's
Taiwan Province" or simply "Taiwan, China", and pressure international organizations to
use the term.
● Within Taiwan, major political contention has been between parties favoring eventual
Chinese unification and promoting a pan-Chinese identity, contrasted with those aspiring
to formal international recognition and promoting a Taiwanese identity, though both sides
have moderated their positions to broaden their appeal in the 21st century.
 ● In 2016, Tsai Ing-Wen of the DPP won a landslide victory in the presidential election and
was later re-elected for the second term in 2020. She refused to agree that Taiwan is part
of China and also rejected the one country, two systems model proposed by the PRC.
Instead, she said that "Republic of China, Taiwan" already is an independent country and
that Beijing must "face reality".
● The United States of America is one of the main allies of Taiwan and since the Taiwan
Relations Act passed in 1979, the United States has sold arms and provided military
training to Taiwan's Republic of China Armed Forces. This situation continues to be a
point of contention for the People's Republic of China, which considers US involvement
disruptive to the stability of the region.
● However, the United States and Japan acknowledge rather than recognize the PRC
position that Taiwan is part of China.

Iran

● In August 2018, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct talks with the
United States.
● Iranian explanations for the animosity with the United States include “the natural and
unavoidable conflict between the Islamic system” and “such an oppressive power as the
United States, which is trying to establish a global dictatorship and further its own
interests by dominating other nations and trampling on their rights”, as well as the United
States support for Israel (“the Zionist entity”). In the West, however, different
explanations have been considered, including the Iranian government's need for an
external bogeyman to furnish a pretext for domestic repression against pro-democratic
forces and to bind the government to its loyal constituency. The United States attributes
the worsening of relations to the 1979–81 Iran hostage crisis, Iran's repeated human
rights abuses since the Islamic Revolution, different restrictions by using spy methods on
democratic revolution by the US, its anti-Western ideology and its nuclear program.
● In 2016, most sanctions on Iran were lifted. The Trump administration unilaterally
withdrew from the nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions in 2018, initiating what became
known as the "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran. In response, Iran gradually
reduced its commitments under the nuclear deal and eventually exceeded pre-Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action enrichment levels.
● Citizens of Iran and several other countries were temporarily banned from entering the
United States by the executive order "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry
Into the United States" of 27 January 2017. The United States also does not allow Iranian
citizens or those suspected of being Iranian citizens entry into the US, including Iranian
passport holders, except for transit. All passengers and crew members of any nationality
should ensure they do not have Iranian entry stamps in their passports. There are no direct
flights between Iran and the USA so all travel must transit through a third country, and no
Iranian aircraft may enter US airspace.
● In August 2020, U.S. intelligence officials assessed that Iran had offered bounties to the
Taliban-linked Haqqani network to kill foreign servicemembers, including Americans, in
Afghanistan in 2019.
● On the same day, Houthi rebels in Yemen carried out multiple drone attacks on a Saudi
oil pipeline deep in Saudi territory. The U.S. stated that it believed Iran sponsored the
attack, though it was unclear if the attack was particularly related to the Iran-U.S.
tensions or related to the Yemeni Civil War that began in 2015 and the Saudi Arabian-led
intervention there.
● In April 2021, over 220 US Congress leaders endorsed H 118, "a resolution expressing
support for Iranian people's desire for a democratic republic Resolution also condemns
'violations of human rights and state-sponsored terrorism' by Tehran".
● On March 31, 2022, despite assertions to the contrary, the US continues to violate a
United Nations resolution that enshrines a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world
powers, stated the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh.