Cultural Diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran vis-à-vis the Phenomenon of Iranophobia and Islamophobia: Backgrounds and Requirements

Iran is a powerful actor in the West Asian region, which owing to its important geo-political positions, the influence of its soft power and its ability in having an impact on the countries of the region has always been subjected to threats and/or enticement by various political actors. One of the fundamental challenges faced in the age of globalization and the transition period is the phenomenon of Iranophobia - Islamophobia. According to the authors, new forms of threats call for the implementation of new forms of strengthening defense methodologies.In this research work the authors have endeavored to provide an answer to the question that ‘how would the Islamic Republic of Iran be able to confront the soft threat of the enemy posed in the form of Islamophobia and Iranophobia’? For this purpose and based on a descriptive - analytical methodology efforts have been made in this paper to examine the assumption that by relying on the global and true values of the Iranian - Islamic culture focused on such elements as “increasing power”, “creation of a proper and optimal image” and “resolving the security and non-security challenges through cognitive alterations and maturity of negotiation” in confronting the above-mentioned challenge. In other words, cultural diplomacy, which plays a significant role in interaction between minds in various societies can pave the path for the elevation of soft power, formation of a positive and interactive image of Iran in the world as well as resolving the cognitive and identity challenges faced by this country.