IRAN AND THE MIDDLE EAST:HARD CHOICES AND THE RELEVANCE OF REALISM

The objective of this paper is to shed light on the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy toward the Middle East in the period 1979-2007. Iran's relations with Pakistan and Turkey within the framework of ECO can be defined as friendly and neighborly since the revolution. Iran- Iraq ties until 2003 can only be termed as antagonistic and conflict-prone. In 1980-1988, the two neighbors were engaged in one of the longest and deadliest wars of the 20th century. The author also discusses Iran's troubled relations with its southern Persian Gulf neighbors (with the exception of Qatar and to some extent Oman and Kuwait), Iran's uncertainties with Russia and other northern neighbors in Central Asia and the Caucasus, Iran- Israel hostility and war of words caused by Iran's opposition to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and its military involvement in Southern Lebanon, and the continuation of the enmity of the American neoconservative politicians due to Iran's condemnation of their expansionist Middle East policies.