Waiting for Peace: U.S.–Iran Negotiations through the Theatre of the Absurd

This study analyses U.S.-Iran negotiations in the theoretical context of the Theatre of the Absurd, with particular reference to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. The US and Iran’s long-standing diplomatic relationship, it argues, is less about linear progress towards resolution and more about cyclical patterns of negotiation, collapse and renewal. The research re-examines diplomatic interaction as a form of political dramaturgy, drawing on literary theory and international relations. The negotiation process is shaped by repetition, uncertainty, and delayed expectations. The study adopts a qualitative and interpretive methodology based on textual analysis, historical investigation, and political discourse analysis to follow the key phases of U.S.-Iran relations, including the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the hostage crisis, nuclear negotiations, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and its subsequent breakdown. The findings suggest that diplomatic discourse and negotiation practice are often symbolic performances, not straightforward paths to resolution. Peace here is an expectation that is always there but is always deferred, like the invisible character of “Godot” in Beckett’s play. The study concludes with an assessment of US–Iran diplomacy as an absurdist structure of endless waiting, where negotiation itself turns into an ongoing performance rather than a method of final settlement. This interdisciplinary approach has implications for both literary studies and international relations, showing how dramatic theory can deepen our understanding of geopolitical deadlock and diplomatic repetition..