Explaining the Islamic Republic of Iran’ Soft Power Potentials and Achievements in Latin America

Latin America is a region rich in underground valuable resources coveted by the United States for long so much so that they have assumed it as their backyard and endeavored to interfere in its affairs in more than a century. The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a result of the cruel sanctions of the United States as well as its being confronted with their hostile policies, has tried to expand and deepen its spiritual influence in the Latin American region by using soft power and exploiting the existing conflicts between some of the states of this region with the United States. Tehran has been able to expand its strategic depth in this backyard of the US by interacting with this region in political, economic, and cultural areas. The main topic of the present paper is that Latin America because of its special economic, cultural – accommodating a large number of Arabs and Muslims- and political status, can play a crucial role in meeting Iran's objectives like developing political, economic, and cultural influence and diversifying its export destination including its technical and engineering services. In this regard, the main question of the present article is: How can soft power act as an important instrument of the Islamic Republic of Iran to increase its influence in the Latin American region? Indeed, along the policy of diversifying its foreign partners and allies, the Islamic Republic of Iran is seeking to attract other partners in Latin America to increase its political, economic and cultural influence by applying public diplomacy and soft power.