Development of Iranian Perspectives towards the Zionist Regime from the Past to the Present Time

This essay studies the various approaches of different Iranian political thinkers in regard to Israel since the establishment of the Zionist regime. The main purpose is to explore whether there are any similarities among all different perspectives towards Israel in Iran. The basic pattern in the broader Iranian foreign policy discourse can be described as an uneasy coexistence between a historical sense of superiority over regional neighbors and a series of humiliations coming from the great powers in Iran’s dealings with the outside world. Israel has become a central feature in Iranian political discourse because all Iranian political thinkers share three fundamental beliefs as follows: 1. Israel is created by the West and it represents Western powers in the region; 2. Israel is fundamentally hostile to Arabs; and 3. The Palestine/ Israel question represents a dramatic case of justice- seeking, for Jews and Muslims alike. Thus, friendship or hostility with Israel can be used as a tool of policy in Iran’s foreign policy discourse to cultivate or antagonize Western powers, while consolidating Iranian hegemony in the Middle East and maintaining a just and fair solution to the Palestine/ Israel question. Despite different interpretations of these concepts by each political school, they constitute a common conceptual ground for all Iranian perspectives towards Israel.