The National Interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran;Continuing or Discontinuing to Support the Present Regime?

What is given priority in addressing the recent developments in the Middle East is the strong competition between the two major alliances, namely the Moderate Axis and the Axis of Resistance. Syria enjoys a decisively role in the competition between these two conflicting forces. As the West-Arab axis deems the developments in the region part of the efforts to underline its own interests, It follows that it plans to shift the game in its favor by dismantling the governing regime in Syria, and severe the bridge between the two principal actor- namely Iran and Hezbollah- while trying to weaken the axis of resistance. It follows that, although the axis of resistance emphasizes finding a political solution, the moderate movement has taken the use of all the options into account. Through the theory of constructivism which is a recognized framework used for analyzing the developments in the Middle East, this article addresses two conflicting identities- namely resistance and moderation- in the region, explaining the crisis in Syria in terms of the competition among these two movements. Also, this article seeks to answer this question: “What impacts will Iran’s policy of continuing and/or discontinuing its support for Syria, put it differently Asad’s collapse and/or survival, have on the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” As a hypothesis, the temporary answer to the question above is that any effort to support and sustain the present government in Syria as it is now, will be one that will serve the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran and strengthen the axis of resistance in the region. The method used in this article is descriptive-analytical.