The Key Drivers in the Defense Diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the West Asia Region

Defense diplomacy is a means by which states attempt to exploit their own capabilities and privileges in defense field in order to make other countries dependent on themselves, enhance mutual security dependence, win trust, prevent the occurance of conflicts, and establish regional security frameworks and the like. One of the characteristics of defense diplomacy under the present circumstances is the fact that it is considered as a means of giving identity and legitimacy in countries' defense and strategic policies. Iran-Arabia relations are transitioning from rivalry towards direct confrontation in reent years. Saudi Arabia's proxy wars with Iran in the West-Asia region especially in Iraq and Syria, as well as the former's all-out efforts to prevent the Shiite power in Yemen and Bahrain from gaining momentum has caused the Saudis to become engaged in attritional wars, one of the effects of which is the deteriorated relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. One fundamental requirement in any project on foresight is the identifying of key drivers. With this in mind, this article has been produced with the aim of identifying the key drivers in IRI's defense diplomacy with Saudi Arabia in the West Asia region by exploiting a diverse array of futurology methods including literature review, expert panel, and cross-matrix analysis using MicMac software. In so doing, the expertise of practitioners in defense field and foreign policy were used, along with key drivers that have been presented in the conclusion.