Iran's foreign policy strategy after saddam

Washington Quarterly

Volumn 33, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 173-189

  Barzegar, Kayhan ^a  

^a ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY   (Iran)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 71049144801     PISSN: 0163660X     EISSN: 15309177     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01636600903430665     Document Type: Article

References (24)

1. Ali Akbar Dareini, "Iran Leader Rebuffs Obama Overtures," Washington Times, March 21, 2009 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/21/iran-leader-spurns-obama-overtures/.
2. For an Iranian perspective on the issue of "Shi'a crescent" see Kayhan Barzegar, "Iran and the Shi'a Crescent: Myths and Realities," Brown Journal of World Affairs XV, no. 1 (Fall/Winter 2008): 87-99.
3. See Yossi Alpher, "Stopping Iran Must be the Objective in Iraq," Forward, October 10, 2007, http://www.forward.com/articles/11787/#;
4. Yossi Alpher, "Except That the Regime in Iran Is Here to Stay," Forward, February 6, 2008, http://www.forward.com/articles/12643/.
5. See David Menashri, "Iran's Regional Policy: Between Radicalism and Pragmatism," Journal ofInternational Affairs 60, no. 2 (March 2007): 154-157;
6. R. K. Ramazani, "Ideology and Pragmatism in Iran's Foreign Policy," The Middle East Journal 58, no. 4 (Fall 2004): 550.
7. See Dilip Hiro, "Wining Iraq Without Losing to Iran," Daily Times, April 25, 2008, http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/printasp?page 2008\04\25\story_25-4-2008_pg3_6.
8. See Juan Cole, "Iran Supported al-Maliki against Militias: OSC; Is the Baker Plan Back? Did Iran Expel Muqtada?" Informed Comment Blog, April 13, 2008, http://www.juancole.com/2008/04/iran-supported-al-maliki-against.html;
9. Leila Fadel, "Iranian General Played Key Role in Iraq Cease-Fire," McClatchy Newspapers, March 30, 2008, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/32055.html.
10. See Mohsen Milani, "Iran's Policy Towards Afghanistan," The Middle East Journal 60, no. 2 (Spring 2006): 246-247.
11. In the course of Iraqi forces' conflict with the Sadrists in Basra in March 2008, Iran mediated to settle the crisis. See Hiro, "Wining Iraq Without Losing to Iran."
12. For example, Iran has hosted and participated in most of the regional conferences at the different levels of foreign and interior ministers held on Iraq's security during 2004- 2008: May and November 2004 in Sharm el-Sheikh, November 2004 and July 2005 in Tehran, August 2007 in Damascus, November 2007 in Istanbul, and April 2008 in Kuwait (See "Kuwait Conference: 20 Regional, Int'l Events but did they Bring Security, Stability to Iraq?" Iraqi News, April 23, 2008, http://www.iraqinews.com/conferences/kuwait-conference-20-regional-intl-events-but-did-they-bring-security-stability-to-iraq.html? Itemid 126). Iran also actively participated in the Doha conference held to bring a ceasefire in Lebanon in May 2008. Iran's involvement itself, however, is an issue of concern to Arab countries in the Middle East.
13. See Asaddollah Alam, The Diaries of Alam (Tehran: Maziyar Publication, 2003) (in Persian).
14. For more information on offensive defense, see Michael E. Brown, Sean M. Lynn-Jones, and Steven Miller, eds., "Preface," in The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security (Boston, MA: MIT Press, March 2005), p. xi.
15. Assertions on enhancing bilateral and mutual economic and political-security cooperation have always been initiated by Iran's officials. See for instance, Ahmadinejad's 12-article initiative presented in the Gulf Cooperation Council's 28th summit, held in December 2007 in Doha, Qatar. See "Iran Presents 12 Proposals at PGCC Summit," Payvand's Iran News, December 4, 2007, http://www.payvand.com/news/07/dec/1029.html.
16. Also see the 10-article initiative presented by Hassan Rohani, former secretary of Iran's National Security Council at the World Economic Forum in Doha, Qatar in April 2007. See Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, "Iran unveils a Persian Gulf security plan," Asia Times, April 14, 2007, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ID14Ak04.html.
17. See Kayhan Barzegar, "Détente in Khatami's Foreign Policy and its Impact on Improvement of Iran-Saudi relations," Discourse: An Iranian Quarterly 2, no. 2 (Fall 2000): 163-164.
18. See Mahmood Sariolghalam, "The Shia Revival: A Threat or an Opportunity," Journal of International Affairs 60, no. 2 (Spring/Summer 2007): 205.
19. This defense strategy has repeatedly been asserted by Iran's high rank official such as Khamenei, Speaker of Majlis Ali Larijani, Secretary of National Security Council Saeed Jalili, and head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp [IRGC] Major General Jaffari. See "Iran's Leader Warns U.S. Against Attack," MSNBC.com, February 8, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17042605/;
20. "Iran: Middle East Security at Risk," CNN.com, February 8, 2007, www.cnn.com/2007/world/meast/11/22/iran.nuclear/index.html;
21. "IRGC Commander Gen. Mohammad Ja'fari: If Attacked, Iran Will Target U.S. Forces in Neighboring Countries," MEMRI Special Dispatch, no. 1833, February 8, 2008, http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi? Page archives&Area sd&ID SP183308.
22. See Kayhan Barzegar, "The Paradox of Iran's Nuclear Consensus," World Policy Journal 26, no. 3 (Fall 2009): 21-30.
23. Steven Erlanger and Mark Landler, "Iran Agrees to Send Enriched Uranium to Russia," New York Times, October 1 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/world/middleeast/02nuke.html.
24. See "Iran: Recent Developments and Implications for U.S. Policy," Hearing of the House Foreign Relations Committee, July 22, 2009, http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/0722_transcript_sadjadpour_hearing.pdf.