Foreign Policy, and the Soft Power of the Islamic Republic of Iran (The Case Study: Twenty-Year Outlook of the Islamic Republic of Iran)

The Islamic Republic of Iran needs to be capable in the area of foreign policy in order to be able to achieve the objectives delineated in its upstream documents. Achieving a higher regional status as the number-one power of the world as one of the objectives delineated in the Twenty-Year Outlook of the Islamic Republic of Iran requires Iran to be capable in software power. For this purpose, the present article tries to address Iran's soft power in the area of foreign policy, and also to scrutinize the 1404 Outlook Document as one of I.R.I's upstream documents. The main question is "What are the parameters of foreign policy that have an effect on the soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran?" Library studies method and qualitative content analysis method are used to analyze the Twenty-Year Outlook Document. The main hypothesis in this article is "the parameters related to IRI's foreign policy in the Twenty-Year Outlook Document have a reliable and deep relation with the increased soft power in the Iranian community in the horizon delineated. Also, the parameters like being inspiring; having an active presence in the international relations; having an effect upon regional convergence and the Islamic world; and abiding by principles like dignity and expediency in the area of foreign policy can improve Iran's soft power through increasing the legitimacy of the political system on the international scene, preserving the international prestige, directing the public opinion, and help the Iranian community in the path of the realization of the ideals and principles contained in the Twenty-Year Outlook Document of the Islamic Republic of Iran.