The Practical Features of the U.S. Power for Harnessing the Regional Power of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The change in the political and security discourse after the Cold War has changed the concept of power too. Today, hard confrontation approaches have been replaced with soft approaches in the international political system. Soft power is currently considered an influential element and all countries would like others to have a positive attitude toward them; hence, they attempt to reinforce this positive image and avert formation of any negative attitude. Therefore, the measures taken by the U.S. against the Islamic Republic of Iran include a range of political, economic, security, social and psychological pressures which are aimed at blocking the expansion of Iran’s influence, containing Iran, changing Iran’s behavior and transforming the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. To provide a sound understanding of the U.S. soft power against the Islamic Republic of Iran, this paper defines soft power and examines the practical features, strategies, political objectives and exploitation tactics of the U.S. soft power against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Our findings indicate that the U.S. has become an international decision maker in the international arena through exerting increased pressure by state and non-state actors and by infiltrating into international institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Security Council and economic institutions such as the World Trade Organization. The findings also suggest that the U.S. soft power may be utilized to expand its interests and establish the U.S.- desired global norms and create international coalition against Iran.