Cultural Factors in Counteracting ISIS’s Influence on the Regional Relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The objective of this study was to examine the cultural factors countering ISIS's influence on the regional relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This research is classified as applied in terms of its purpose, descriptive in nature, and exploratory mixed-method in terms of its variables. The statistical sample comprised experts and officials responsible for foreign relations, takfiri groups, and ISIS, who were active in policymaking and research centers in 2022. In the quantitative section, 335 participants were randomly selected through stratified sampling from among active members in the fields of foreign relations and regional terrorism. The qualitative findings were analyzed using thematic analysis with MAXQDA 10 software, while the quantitative section was analyzed using structural equation modeling via LISREL software. The quantitative findings confirmed all the qualitative components based on the structural equation model. Cultural factors, with a coefficient of 0.210, were found to significantly impact ISIS's influence on the regional relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran.