The Pivotal Function of Security in Imam Khomeini's Foreign Policy's Approach

Foreign policy is one of the most prominent tools for providing territorial integrity, security, international credit and progressing national plans and objectives in political, economic and cultural domains.What is needed in an efficient system of foreign policy is not a mere bundle of characteristics, but a sensitive balance between realism and scrutiny, flexibility and maintenance of eligibility and moderation and finally continuation and change that tend to a valuable objective such as retaining the security of the country.In the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution, a noticeable shift occurred in Iranian foregn policy, due to the fact that the foundation of foreign policy in Islam is based on binding principles as mentioned by fiqh. In the political fiqh of Islam there is a principle that orders the preservation of dar-al- Islam¬ which gives meaning to other principles. It was this approach which urged the late Imam Khomeini to give more value to the issue of the propagation of the revolutionary Islam from the onset of the Islamic Republic for the sake of safeguarding dar – al – Islam, although he never denied the importance of military and disciplinary forces in sustaining the political, social and economic independence and the security of the country face to face with other countries.In Imam khomeini's opinion not only could we assume any distinction between the security of Moslems, the country and the government, but also we should link it to that of other Moslems all throughout the world. According to this view, the concept of "ummah" replaces that of "nation" and the Iranian security becomes an integral part of the world security. The conclusion is that by taking the notion of security as pivotal, in contrast with both the realistic and idealistic outlooks which are currently accepted, the preservation of dar – al – Islam underlies the national security of Iran as an inseparable part of the Islamic world's security.