Al-Alam News Network and its Role in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Media Diplomacy

Considering the role of Al-Alam News Network, this paper will explore the nature of modern information-communication technologies and their impact on the Islamic Republic of Iran's diplomacy in the regional developments. The global spread of these technologies since the 1990s has changed the hierarchical power relations among the national and international actors and paved the way for extensive developments in economic, political and social arenas. These technologies have turned information, knowledge and conventions into such a significant power source, which, in turn, has impacted diplomacy as well and changed its content and manner of performance, that some have called it a revolution in diplomatic affairs. Hence, the amazing developments in this field and the significant role of the media in the modern age have led to the emergence of new media centers and, besides grand media centers created by separate and scattered media, there is opportunity for the emergence of new media centers. In fact, the new media have been emerging with an unprecedented speed in the world of information, news and mass media. Hence, the need to understand the features of these technologies and the implications of using them make it necessary to explore the role of Al-Alam news network and its impact on advancing the Islamic Republic of Iran's diplomacy considering the role of information-communication technologies.