mohammad masoud sadeghi

The most important factor in strengthening and deepening the relations between any two nations and two countries in today’s world is culture, and this issue becomes of special and key importance when the two countries are geographical “neighbors”. It is an undeniable fact that there have been friendly relations between Iran and Armenia for a long time and all throughtheir history, which have been based on common civilizational and cultural elements. It goes without saying that any kind of activity between two countriescalls forhaving accurate knowledge about the values, interests and beliefs of one another.This is especially important when it comes to cultural diplomacy, which is the most important means- among other types of diplomacy- ofconveying the intended messageto the addressees;the reason being that culture is the by-product of the beliefs and values of every nation and it is these beliefs that form the source of cultural interactions between two nations. The author ofthis research paper intends to use the survey method to assess the views of the Armenian people about their values and beliefs, and,in this way, provide a more accurate interpretation of the views and knowledge of the Armenian people about their neighbors. In order to materialize this purpose, a form containing 15 questions was prepared and translated into the Armenian language and distributed among different strata of people in Yerevan. Keeping in view the knowledge of the Iranian people about the culture, art, and literature, as well as the widespread influence of such factorsas religion, politics, and economics in the Armenian society and the important role of family, music, and cyberspace in filling their leisure time, it was concluded that the use of active and dynamic cultural diplomacy in alignment with the speed and quality of today’s digital world can play an important role in deepening relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia in different areas.

The existing Iranophobia and Shia-phobia are the two uncalled for challenges of today’s world that need to be dealt with appropriately at the second step of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The present paper proposes to examine the emergence of Iranophobia at the regional level, Shia-phobia at the trans-regional level and Islamophobia at the global level and the various methodologies that can be resorted to for neutralizing them. It goes without saying that in the absence of a consolidated policy and appropriate cultural measures, confronting these phenomena can result in the emergence of challenges in conserving national and regional stability as well as the unity in the world of Islam. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the various forms of Iranophobia as well as the causes of the emergence of Shia-phobia in the countries of the region and propose certain cultural strategies for confronting the existing trends and neutralizing these uncalled for phobias. According to the findings of this research the most important strategic programs that should be seriously taken into consideration by the Shiite scholars and thinkers include: increasing legitimacy of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, influencing the public opinion and diplomatic relations with the countries of the world, pathology of the cultural activities abroad, paying special attention to the considerations and concerns in setting up cultural policies, emphasis on Islamic human rights and condemnation of anti-human activities of the West and the correct introduction of Islam to the world.

Today, in the international arena, all countries are trying to engage in comprehensive development oriented mutual dialogue with a principle called maintaining national interests, and have concluded that making use of cultural instruments is the best and most efficient way of optimal implementation of foreign policy and gaining national interest. With the advent of new political-security and geopolitical developments, the political stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the EU has changed. The EU that encompasses some powerful and influential countries, is considered to be one of the powerful economic blocs in the international system. Given the US sanctions against our country, the formulation and implementation of efficient cultural diplomacy is an issue that can provide a better opportunity for more serious engagement with the EU, leading to tension reduction and peace and security return. Cultural diplomacy can be said to be an efficient and flexible instrument in foreign policy to improve the level of government relations and to increase understanding among nations and to create international peace and stability. It also provides the appropriate grounds for mutual understanding of human societies through the expansion of cultural-artistic exchanges, development of academic- educational collaborations and interaction between elites and communities, language teaching and the removal of existing language barriers. This study is a library research and has a descriptive-analytic method. It seems that if the foreign policy of a country could promote its desirable values ​​in the international system by making use of attractive culture for nations, it would create behavioral patterns and political commitments without compulsion at the major level in its favor.

The US Foreign Policy towards Israel is based on an unconditional and comprehensive support for Israel. This strategy of offering absolute support for Israel has interests for the United States and has also brought huge costs for Washington. It is the purpose of this article to analyze the costs and benefits of this strategy and to answer this question that what are benefits and costs of the US support of Israel for this country? Based on Rational Decision Theory this article argues that the costs of this support includes the financial burden over the US economy in terms of loans and assistances, altering America's relationship with the Muslim World and the Arab world, also other social and political costs of conflicts caused by various wars in the Middle East, such as 33 and 22-days war of Lebanon and Gaza and also the occupation of Iraq, and finally the rise anti-Americanism around the world. The benefits of such a support can be: the vast support that the US administrations receives from Israel and the Zionist lobbies, and also the huge and overwhelming Profits made by US arms companies through their arms sale to the Middle Eastern countries due to the Middle East security situation.