The Islamic Republic of Iran's Foreign Policy towards Iraq From the perspective of Balance of Threat Theory (2003-2018)

Most Western analysts, especially Americans, look at mainly from the perspective of the offensive realism of Iran's foreign policy in Iraq. These authors assess the goals and strategies of Iran's foreign policy by maximizing power in the context of regional hegemony, highly sectarian and Offensive. Contrary to the above, the present paper looks at the Balance of Threat Theory Steven Walt's to Iran's foreign policy in Iraq from 2003 to 2018. What has shaped the main foreign policy strategy of Iran towards Iraq was a response to threats targeting Iran's interests and national security at two external levels - non-Iraqi and Iraqi. These threats on the non-Iraqi front led to the American military presence in Iraq and the prevention of regime change policy towards Iran. At the Iraqi level, the reappearance of a threatening government in Baghdad or a US-affiliated state and the possibility of breakdown of country from Kurdish separatist tendencies and the emergence of ISIS were among the concerns of the authorities in Tehran. The significant question of this paper is what goals the Islamic Republic of Iran have pursued its foreign policy towards the Iraq's vicissitude after the debacle of Saddam Hussein. Based on the paper's hypothesis, the aim pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran in its foreign policy towards Iraq's vicissitude after Saddam's debacle was to preserve of Iraq's territorial integrity through the support of a friendly and allied government.