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Since the inception of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iranian foreign policy has extend from of two concurrent sources, namely, a perpetually turbulent regional environment, and the exigencies of a faction-ridden republican, theocratic polity with its own unique system of checks and balances and complex decision-making.1 Iran’s leaders are no strangers to foreign shocks. After all, their system has evolved through two Gulf wars, the seismic effects of the Soviet Union’s collapse, diplomatic alienation, and the United States subjecting it to the strains of comprehensive sanctions. Nevertheless, they were
unprepared for the massive changes—indeed a revolution—in the security environment around Iran wrought almost overnight in the aftermath of the 11 September atrocities. A whole new geopolitical trajectory has been foisted in the two main theaters of Iranian foreign policy: the Persian Gulf and the Central Asia and Caucasus region—warranting a new appraisal of Iran’s foreign policy and priorities. In the ensuing debate within Iranian foreign policy circles, a central question has been whether or not the new regional milieu should be considered a national security plus or minus.
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