Investigating the Role of Geopolitical Factors of I.R. of Iran Regarding Its Defense Strategy

Geopolitical factors comprise all factors that influence the defense strategy of I.R. of Iran in terms of geography, politics and power. These factors are similar to the dimensions of national power and play a significant role in selecting the type of defense strategy. Therefore, geopolitical factors dictate and then a defense strategy is formulated based on it. In this paper geopolitical factors have eight dimensions: Natural, human, economic, domestic and foreign policies, military, cultural, and technological. This research is a case-field study with a quantitative approach and is of developmental-applied nature. Data collection was done using field and library methods and the statistical population included 85 individuals, using expertise analytical methods. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of geopolitical factors regarding I.R. of Iran's defense strategy. The results show 51 geopolitical components (8 natural, 5 human, 7 economic, 5 domestic policy, 4 foreign policy, 12 military, 5 cultural, and 5 scientific-technological factors). 12 factors have two roles simultaneously, i.e. the geopolitical factors of Iran have 51 components and 63 roles. In total, these 63 roles include: 34 strengths, 10 weaknesses, 13 opportunities, and 6 threats. After calculating the strategic positioning, it became clear that I.R. of Iran is in a mild offensive position regarding the field of geopolitical factors.