Iran's foreign policy towards the Syrian crisis (2010-2017)

Diansaee Behzad

The article analyzes various aspects of Iran's participation in the settlement of the Syrian conflict in the context of the consideration of the strategic priorities of Iranian diplomacy in the Middle East region before and after the events of the Arab Spring. The work shows the dynamics of Iranian-Syrian relations in the post-revolutionary period, beginning with the period of the Iran-Iraq war and until 2017, the main assumption of the article is that after the Arab spring began, the United States and Arab regional allies came to the idea of separating Syria from the axis of Islamic resistance and the weakening of Lebanese Hezbollah. The Islamic Republic of Iran, realizing this goal, uses a realistic foreign policy, seeking to preserve its national interests in Syria. As shown, in connection with the nuclear crisis, Iran's role in the Middle East was transformed and, as a result of the resolution of the nuclear issue, Iran's sphere of influence in the region expanded. At the same time, the Islamic foreign policy pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran has an ever-increasing impact on the process of Islamization of international relations in the Near and Middle East

Keywords:foreign policy, coalitions, national interests, Middle East, Islamic Republic of Iran, Syrian conflict