Iran's Strategy towards ISIS: A Theoretical Approach

What are the theoretical perspectives on ways of confronting ISIS? Which of them can be the basis of Iran’s strategy towards this group? The inhumane and violent behaviors of ISIS, the so-called Islamic State or Daesh, have made people of many countries in the region and around the world shocked and full of hatred to the extent that societies and politicians of different countries, including Iran, have explicitly opposed it. Thus far, the issue of confronting the ISIS threats has been undertaken more practically. Using a theoretical context, the author of this article holds that Iran can effectively fight against ISIS by relying on a strategic approach which may be performed by concentrating on strategic Islam or civilization-making aspect of Islam (manifested in an Islamic Awakening), and its cooperation with a Western strategic layer (forming an international coalition). It is also necessary for this kind of confrontation to be comprehensive enough to include all other approaches within itself and to be operationalized.