region

The Persian Gulf region comprises eight independent political entities and, due to its geopolitical, geostrategic, and geo-economic position and functions, is considered one of the most significant areas in the world. Despite numerous commonalities among the nations and states of the region, the process of regional convergence has not been satisfactory. Therefore, this study aims to examine and evaluate the most important factors contributing to the convergence of the region’s countries, as well as the dimensions and priorities for establishing a regional organization among the Persian Gulf littoral states.
This research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, utilizing both library and field sources. Convergence factors were classified into five dimensions: economic, political, defense-security, territorial, and cultural-social. A questionnaire in both Arabic and English was distributed among regional experts, and the data were analyzed using t-tests and PLS structural equation modeling in SPSS software.
The findings indicate that the most important factors for regional convergence in the five dimensions are: economic (common economic interests and objectives), political (the role of political leaders), territorial (shared environmental interests), cultural-social (sense of belonging to the Persian Gulf region), and defense-security (expansion of defense-security cooperation). A comparison of Iranian and non-Iranian perspectives shows that Iranians place greater emphasis on economic, political, and defense-security dimensions. According to respondents, the priorities for establishing a Persian Gulf regional organization are economic, defense-security, political, cultural-social, and environmental, while Iranians rate defense-security, political, and economic dimensions higher.
The defense-security and cultural-social dimensions have the greatest impact on convergence. Regional convergence refers to the broad cooperation among countries to safeguard shared interests and the transfer of decision-making authority to a new center. This process leads to development, prosperity, and the ability to counter threats. The Persian Gulf countries, with their numerous commonalities, possess the capacity for convergence, and moving toward it is essential, as in today’s world, convergence is not a choice but a geopolitical necessity.

Containing regional threats in US foreign policy and upstream documents has always been considered one of the most important elements of this Great power foreign policy behavior. In all regional networked systems, identifying and confronting state entities that pose a threat to US foreign policy has been placed on the foreign policy agenda. The Eurasian region is one of the regions where regional and global powers are present. This region is important due to its oil and gas resources as well as regional threats. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States are in strategic competition with each other in this region.Research question: What does the US strategy against the Islamic Republic of Iran include in the Eurasian security network system?

Research hypothesis:

 Within the framework of the strategy of containing the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Eurasian region, the United States uses a network approach that includes components such as containing threats based on mass creation and concentration of power and preventing growth in the power cycle.

Methodology and theoretical framework:

 The research method of this article is analogical modeling. In this method, using the theoretical foundations of international relations, an analytical model is presented and in the following sections, the field application of the proposed model is carried out. The research approach used in this article is the network approach. In this approach, the order and strategic environment in which states interact are considered as a network of communication nodes.

With the increasing complexity and network nature of the security order in the Eurasian region, the strategy of containing regional threats in US foreign policy has become a network and the Islamic Republic of Iran as a power with a high capacity to expand its influence in this region has been challenged within the framework of the above-mentioned control system. America's foreign policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution has been based on perception of threats. In the US foreign policy documents, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been portrayed as a threat to regional interests and its allies and its containment has been designated as one of the priorities of the US regional policy. By defining its regional identity in the form of a regional power, the Islamic Republic of Iran seeks to play an effective role commensurate with its national capabilities in the region to determine the security order. In the Central Asia and the Caucasus region, which encompasses the most important environment and arena of Iran’s strategic behavior, it is considered one of the points of conflict between Iran and the United States. The Eurasian region is one of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s spheres of influence, providing many geoeconomic, geoenergy and geopolitical opportunities to strengthen national capabilities in order to be at the forefront of the regional power cycle. Given the increasing level of complexity of regional interactions and the high degree of permeability against trans-regional powers, the Eurasian region has become a network of interconnected communication nodes that can be categorized into four subject areas: geopolitics, geoeconomics, geoculture and geoenergy. Each subject area is connected to other sub-networks in the form of a sub-network. By manipulating communication nodes in the afore-mentioned subnetworks, it is possible to influence the security order of this region. The optimal security order network of regional and trans-regional units is formulated and reorganized in contrast to the optimal order of competing units.The presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Eurasian security order network has provided this country with a suitable space to strengthen regional cooperation and strengthen national power resources in the fields of hardware and software. The United States, within the framework of a regional control and containment system, seeks to weaken Iran's position in the Eurasian region in order to reduce its regional deterrence. The adaptation of US regional control and containment system to the changing security order of the region is something that has happened in recent years. Containing Iran's network in the Eurasian region requires a complex control system whose principles and components can be identified with respect to US foreign policy documents and its regional behavior.

The American network control system is an environmentally oriented and outward-looking system in which threats are contained and controlled using communication nodes of the regional and global order network at various thematic levels. The network control system consists of two parts: the logical principles that constitute the system and the system components. The logical principles of the network control system are summarized in three principles, based on which the system is designed and operated. The principles of the American network control system are based on three principles, which include a network approach to threats, containing threats and preventing growth in the power cycle. For example containing threats is carried out in the form of policies to create critical mass and concentration of power, which is pursued in the form of strengthening Azerbaijan's military power and escalating border tensions in Aras River. Preventing the growth of the power cycle is also pursued by manipulating communication nodes in the geo-energy and geo-economic layers using regional allies. Placing Iran in a cycle of underdevelopment and depletion of national resources, along with preventing it from achieving regional partneship opportunities are the goals that the United States pursues in the form of regional containment of Iran

For decades, media propaganda has been used as a powerful tool to shape public opinion and influence global policies, significantly influencing decision-making. News narratives and reports target the general public and are sometimes inaccurate. This article examines the propaganda of these two media outlets during the Iranian nuclear crisis after the United States violated the JCPOA (May 2018 to December 2024) using content analysis and citations of CNN and BBC news extracted from their websites. Of the total of 1,276 selected news items, reports, interviews, and news analyses related to Iran’s nuclear program during the aforementioned period, from the websites of these media outlets, citations to CNN were 529 (41.5%) and to BBC were 747 (58.5%). 100% of the evidence was extracted directly from the websites of these two media outlets, which indicates the authenticity and first-hand nature of the sources and provides new information on various topics and events related to Iran's nuclear program. The article focuses on these two questions: 1) What role did BBC and CNN play in reflecting a true picture of the Iranian nuclear issue after the violation of the JCPOA and in what framework did they play their role? and 2) What were the similarities and differences in their roles in reflecting the issue?; It seeks to analyze these hypotheses that 1) the aforementioned media outlets played a decisive role in guiding policymakers' decisions regarding the Iranian nuclear issue and 2) they had a different approach to the issue based on their dominant ideologies. This means that BBC, which tries to convince its audience and convey its hidden goals in a specific direction with a biased, purposeful and indirect view; In contrast, CNN takes a frank, transparent, and unbiased view of the issue, presenting its objective directly, somewhat in line with reality, and with more or less convincing arguments.

This research tries to identify and prioritize the military and security environmental factors affecting the country's defense strategy in West Asia. For better understanding, the interaction model of system and environment was used. The research method is mixed (qualitative and quantitative) that through library study and the use of an expert panel, the indicators were identified in three aspects of structure, process and actor, and their importance was determined through a questionnaire. The results of the research show that out of 57 identified factors, 20 factors are related to the structure, 12 factors are related to the process, and 25 factors are related to the actor in the two areas of threat and opportunity. The priority of the indicators also showed that in terms of "structure" in the field of threat, it represents "the enigmatic structure of security in the region based on arms races between actors" and in the field of opportunity, it represents "the networking of the regional deterrence system based on linking different links and axes to control the enemy and neutralizing their actions" in the face of "trend" in the field of threat representing "increasing interactions of the Zionist regime with some regional governments" and in the field of opportunity representing "increasing the process of participation of popular forces in national defense against the Western invaders" and in the face of "actor" in The field of threat representing "the establishment of US military bases and locations in the peripheral environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and the field of opportunity representing "the failure of the Americans to achieve the goals outlined in the region and the failure in Afghanistan and Iraq to achieve the military goals" as the most important military and security factors affecting The defense strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in West Asia was chosen.

The regionalism and security order of ancient Iran had placed a collection of local and regional systems within a comprehensive system under the name of empire, or rather imperial. Ethnic and geographical, religious dispersion was a feature of such a system. One of the most prominent polymorphic systems resulting from such an accumulation was its governance and order management. The heterogeneous parts, the connection between them and the central system, the synchronization of the systems, the synchronicity and synergy between them, and finally their termination on the same point or goal, had made order their main conundrum. Finding a way to answer such a riddle required innovation in order and governance. The fundamental question is, what innovative methods did ancient Iran provide to answer the riddle of order in the ancient multi-body system of the empire? Satrapy as the regionalism of ancient Iran has been the answer to such a question. The purpose of this study is to investigate this order and reveal Iranian innovation in regionalism. The research method was qualitative and the documentary and library review technique was used to collect data. The most prominent achievement of the present study is the link between the oldest Iranian innovation in the old order and regionalism, which today is considered as a model of global governance.

Despite the differences between Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria, these countries, on the issue of Kurdish independence, based on Bari Buzan's security interdependence theory, consider Kurdish independence as a common regional threat and have not allowed them independence. The fall of Saddam, the support of Iran and the United States of the Iraqi Kurds, the weakness of the Iraqi central government and the ISIS attacks, prompted the Iraqi Kurds to hold a referendum (2016) to try to gain independence, but it did not succeed due to security interdependence.This research, which has been conducted in a descriptive-analytical way, is based on the fact that with the joint cooperation between the Kurds and the central governments, it is possible to turn the threats to the strategic cooperation between the Kurds and the central governments in political, military, environmental, economic and social fields.The findings of the research that has studied the strategies of cooperation between the Kurds and the central government of Iraq showed that the success of countries in one area leads to the encouragement of cooperation in other areas.This research has addressed the situation of Iraqi Kurds with the Iraqi central government as a case study .

The victory of the Islamic revolution led to the formation of the discourse of resistance as an alternative to the hegemonic discourse of domination, and it was able to move from a marginalized discourse to the context of developments.  One of the most important examples of this acting can be explained in the discussion of regional order. This article has analyzed the role of resistance discourse in regional order by using the discourse theory of Lacla and Mouffe and using explanatory-analytical method. The proposed hypothesis is that the discourse of resistance after the victory of the Islamic revolution in Iran, with the creation of an Islamic discourse system, has been able to transform from a discourse marginalized by the discourse of domination into an active discourse in the context of regional and extra-regional policies, and with the negation of the hegemonic discourse of domination and non-compromise in contrast to its policies will create a new articulation, which ultimately has created a new pattern of high-efficiency order-making at the regional level. However, the discourse of resistance, while having structural, military, conceptual and ideological capacities, still has many challenges at various levels, domestic (such as economic challenges), regional (such as competing discourses) and extra-regional (such as the intervention of Western powers) that can seriously threaten its goals. The innovation of this article is explaining the regional regularization of the discourse of resistance while paying attention to its capacities and challenges.

The anarchic environment of the international system and the absence of a dominant and legitimate power obliges each of the actors to take advantage of their desired capacity, goals and interests in the complex and networked environment of the international system. Due to its strategic weaknesses, Israel is trying to develop its relations with China comprehensively in order to improve its regional position and improve its global image and international position. No matter how much the level of cooperation and interactions between Beijing and Tel Aviv expands, it will actually have a negative effect on Iran's security and interests and vice versa. In this process, including the consequences of strengthening and developing relations between China and Israel, approaches such as; The gap between Iran and China, the negative impact on Iran's desired peace process in the Palestinian issue, Israel's persuasion of China not to sell weapons to Iran, the formation of Jewish groups and lobbies against Iran's interests in China, the disruption of Iran's oil and gas sales market to China is accompanying China with Israel's favorable regional order and not supporting Iran in its nuclear program. The elaboration of this research is descriptive-analytical. Data collection is also arranged in a qualitative method and in the form of documents and libraries.

In the contemporary era, regionalism has been a popular approach for governments in tandem with globalization or as its alternative. Iran has been an international country and a regional power thanks to its geographical and historical expediencies. Since the very first year of the twentieth century's last decade, as the soviet’s occupation of Afghanistan ended and central Asia and southern Caucasus republics gained independence, Iran could have promoted its regional place. Nevertheless, despite its unique geographical position, cultural and civic affinity with the aforementioned countries, and six five-year development plans, the Islamic Republic of Iran has failed to act as a regional pole and take advantage of its regional capabilities regarding those countries over the last three decades. Our primary question is, “What role does the supranational region play in Iran's five-year development plans?” Using frequency and content analysis methods, we studied the content, articles, and sections of six five-year development plans. Our findings indicate that the term “region” has no clear definition; the level of attention paid to it varies frequently; and the region's key components, constituent areas, and countries differ considerably from one plan to another. As a practical result, we suggest that the “Iranian civilization zone,” the geographical-cultural region surrounding Iran, be defined as Iran's target region and a specific instance of the supranational region in Iran's macro-planning and macro-policymaking.

The aim of this research was to investigate the relations between Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the context of their security policy. Accordingly, the main question of the research is: how can the competition between the two countries be perceived in the form of their security policy. This hypothesis for the question is proposed that: given Saudi Arabia's aggressive policy of balancing against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of confrontation between Shias and Wahhabis, support for allied religions, leadership of the Islamic world, Iran's nuclear plan and the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the competition between the two countries can be analyzed in this regard. The findings showed that Saudi Arabia is trying to change the regional security order in its favor according to the shifts in the three domains of domestic, regional, and behavioral changes in the US actions for acquisition of influence and supremacy. This research has been conducted in descriptive-analytical method.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the role of Chabahar port on the security order of the Indian Ocean region. Chabahar port is located directly or indirectly on the path of several important international highways and has the ability to become one of the most strategic transit positions. This port is a member of two regional structures, the Oman Sea structure and the Indian Ocean structure, and can connect to the three continents of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. It has especially affected economic security. Therefore, this research seeks to answer the question, what effect will Chabahar port have on the security order of the Indian Ocean region? The findings of the research show that the economic dependence of India and China, as well as the presence of the United States and other regional countries, has caused the security category in the Indian Ocean to become more important. The economic growth of China and India in recent years is due to trade and economic exchanges in the Indian Ocean. Due to the formation of traditional patterns of friendship and enmity as well as the strategic importance of Chabahar port, this port has played an important role in the equations of the regional security order of the Indian Ocean. The current research has been carried out by descriptive-analytical method and by referring to library-documentary sources.

Qatar is a modest but influential country in the Middle East that has evolved into a remarkable determinant that could leave crucial impacts upon the region's fate. Qatar's role has been distinguished from other regional actors in terms of foreign policy and new diplomacy in the region. Qatar's motives for adopting a mediating foreign policy are defined as maintaining its security and stability in areas with tense geography, contending and evading conflict by declaring for one of the parties, ambition to extend its influence as a regional determinant, particularly against Saudi Arabia, and as a bargaining chip in the international community. The question, “what is the impact of Qatar-US relations on the security of the Persian Gulf region?” has been raised to conduct this study, composed in a descriptive-analytical manner. Accordingly, the results of the study designate that Qatar's leaning towards the United States arises from its sense of insecurity and the fact that the United States acts as an advocate for Qatar in the region. Furthermore, Qatar's role in the political equation signifies that other conventional sources of power that include land, population, and military might, are not the sole forms of power, and novel sources such as the media, norms, and cultivating a brand can similarly serve as sources of power.

Saudi Arabia's aggressive regional policies toward Iran from 2003 to 2020AbstractThe present study examines Saudi Arabia's aggressive regional policies toward Iran from 2003 to 2020.Saudi Arabia,known before 2003 as a conservative state in the region, has changed its regional policy since 2003,confronting Iran. But the main question of the research is why Saudi Arabia has adopted an aggressive policy towards Iran in the region? In response, it can be said that Saudi Arabia has pursued an aggressive policy against the power and influence of Iran following the developments in the region since 2003 and considering itself as a regional hegemon and leader of the Arab word. Saudi Arabia has also entered into military and arms deals with the United States in response to Iran's nuclear talk,to prevent Iranian influence in the region.The present study is written in the framework of aggressive realism theory and using descriptive-analytical method using library and internet data.Keyword:Saudi Arabia, Iran, region, realism theory

The Persian Gulf is a strategic region whose components are inextricably linked to each other. And every movement that occurs in one of its units is reflected in another part of the region. In order to maintain the unity of the region, it is necessary that a comprehensive and coherent cooperation be made by its constituent members And this is possible in the shadow of cooperation and collaboration. It is in the context of convergence that the countries of the region will be able to pursue their interests as they have defined Without threatening or diminishing the values of the governments of other regions. The purpose of this study is to identify convergent geopolitical factors affecting the collective security of the Persian Gulf region. The research method is using the classical Delphi method and in the form of convergence theories approach. The statistical population of this study includes 35 experts in the field of geopolitics, security and international relations Initially to reach a consensus on convergent geopolitical components During three stages, the components were examined and finally 34 components were agreed upon as follows The majority of the people of the region follow the religion of Islam as a stable and unifying factor, Proximity and geographical continuity of countries in the region, Existence of suitable fossil and mineral reserves in the countries of the region and the dependence of their economies on oil revenues, Establish and strengthen the Joint Committee of Coastal Countries for Environmental Affairs, The relationship between the countries of the Persian Gulf region and the important geopolitical areas of the West Asian region, Membership of most countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

After the formation of a federal government in Iraq, the power and influence of the Kurds increased inside Iraq and the Kurds with the support of some countries, including the Zionist regime (Israel) as well as the emergence of critical conditions in Iraq, especially after ISIL entrance in that country, they sought to achieve their long-term wish to form an independent Kurdish state, and to do they held an independence referendam in last years mehr 3rd which was a failure Iraqi kurdi region. They faced barriers, including lack of military and economic infrastructure, opposition from neighboring countries and the central government of Iraq which prevented Kurdistan from reaching its full independence. With this explanation, an examination of the current obstacles in the full independence of the Kurdistan Region is considered as the main purpose of this paper. This research is an applied research and to do this, an explanatory-analytical method and a deep dialogue with experts have been used. Such a way that at first, information was gathered through resources, documents, questionnaires and in-depth interviews and then analyzed in an interpretive way. In summing up, it was found that internal factors such as the geopolitical constraint and geographical location, the constitution of Iraq, the opposition of the Shiites and Sunnis, the lack of economic and military infrastructure and external factors such as US opposition and the opposition of neighboring Kurdish minority countries (Iran, Turkey And Syria) are among the factors preventing the full independence of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Abstract To delineate the prospect of political Islam in Turkey and its impact on regional security developments, it is necessary to analyze its components, variables, and important elements, including political Islam, as political Islam has been one of the major influential currents and discourses in recent developments in Turkey. Therefore, this article aims to analyze the political Islam in Turkey and its impact on regional security developments. After expanding the concepts of the research topic, the issue of political Islam and its security impacts will be examined. According to the subject documentation presented in this paper, the research method is descriptive-analytical and the data gathering method is library research which is described using the political text analysis method. The findings of the study indicate that: Political Islam in Turkey is influencing regional security developments, Turkey's ability to resolve regional crises, the ability or inability of Turkey’s government to create a balance of power in the region and to resolve conflicts in its foreign policy.

: The title of influential factors in geopolitical Shia in the Middle EastMohammad Reza Moradi Kalardeh (Department of Geography, Najaf Abad Branch, Najaf Abad Islamic Azad University)Corresponding author: Youssef Zain al-Abidin, fellow of Rasht Islamic Azad UniversityHojjat Mahkoui of Najaf Abad Azad UniversityAbstract

The purpose of conducting this research is to explain the issue that the Shiites are included in the geographical territory of the state, due to such a plurality and diversity.It has natural and human geographical dimensions, which is very complex geopolitical issues, full of differences and structural conflicts.It has been made to understand the exact roots and foundations of geopolitics affecting the region of Shia.It has become geopolitical because the point of gravity of the geography of Shiites is the regions that influence the power relations in the region and the world.In this article, the influential geopolitical factors of Shia in the Middle East region have been investigated.Asaaaar, having power and strength, is interested in the expansion of the naval sphere and the increase of victory in the region or the surrounding regions.One of the sensitive geopolitical areas around Iran is the Mediterranean Sea. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and Tahusl inThe geopolitical structure of the Middle East, Iran has found a pivotal point in the geographical distribution of Shiites and its territories are Shiites in the Middle East.It was of strategic importance, which can be used in the field of territorialism and expansion of the regional interests of the Islamic Republic.Is Iran going to take revenge?

In this research are discussed qualitative content analysis of speeches of the President (Hassan Rouhani) in the UN General Assembly in the years 1393.1392 and 1394 . The results of this analysis show that the West organized violence in our region, such as the Attack of Iraq and Afghanistan Caused violence, extremism and war in the Middle East And risk the destruction of civilization and create a terrorist state is very likely.The major powers must stop civilian and military intervention in in this region. Iran is a secure country and wants to play a constructive role in the region .Iranian people voted for the state with plan and hopes thus interactive approach of Iranian government caused to start negotiations over Iran's nuclear program with a new approach.The exact schedule and diplomatic flexibility and courage constructive dialogue of Iran led to a nuclear deal. As a result of the nuclear deal would be Cancellation of unjust sanctions, peace and stability in the region and the world and the beginning of a new chapter in Iran's relations with the world in all context. Iran intrend economic cooperation and development in the period after the agreement.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in this paper, the role of the Declaration in development of regional instruments and mechanisms is being examined. So far, five regions in the world (Africa, Americas, Europe, the Islamic-Arabic region and Asia-Pacific) have been inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and established their regional arrangements, such as instruments and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing human rights, including declarations, commissions and special courts of human rights. In these regional arrangements, while maintaining the principles and values set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regional features such as philosophical foundations, values, norms, concerns and local and regional needs are taken into account. For this reason, the establishment of regional arrangements, in addition to the development of universal human rights principles, promotes the acceptance and implementation of these principles at local and regional levels.The present study demonstrates that regional human rights systems continue to strengthen the UN system in protecting and promoting human rights at the regional level and enhancing its effectiveness.