Iran's Soft Power in Iraq

The U.S. attack on Iraq and expulsion of Sadam drew the attention of the politicians in the region and academicians to Iran’s influence in Iraq. This influence has made the U.S. and its allies worried. The present article argues that their worry is not the result of the hard power of Iran; rather, it is Iran’s soft power that has made them anxious. Benefitting from Alexander Wowing’s explication of soft power, this article concludes that Iran’s influence in Iraq is the result of the attractiveness of the ideals of the Islamic Revolution to the Iraqi Shiites and its supporting their struggles during the last thirty years.