Iran's Foreign Policy Strategy for Regional Balance of Power

Regional developments, particularly after the Arab Spring, emergence of new crises including in Syria and Iraq, the rise of Daesh terrorists, the weakening of governments, and subsequent redefinition of the roles of regional and extra-regional actors to fill the power vacuum have rendered the need to devise a new strategy in Iran's foreign policy inevitable—a strategy that is capable of adapting to a rapidly changing environment in the region. The main assumption of this article is that the two principles of strengthening "regional cooperation" and "deterring threats from the region" (in terms of both soft and hard warfare) should be kept in balance under the new circumstances so that Iran's status can be maintained in the regional balance of power. Accordingly, the author believes that the need to gradually combine the two existing foreign policy strategies and to introduce a third strategy—referred to here as "a strong from inside Iran"—is inevitable.