Comparison of Political Order in the West Asia Region in the Foreign Policy Strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia

Abstract

In the past decade, the occurrence of various small and large-scale challenges and crises in the West Asia region has compelled regional and extra-regional actors to strive for strengthening the political order in the area in accordance with their national interests. Among these, the foreign policy strategy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a regional power, and Russia, as an extra-regional country, is based on a new realistic viewpoint focused on achieving success and implementing policies in line with their national interests. The research question of this study is: How can the foreign policy strategies of Iran and Russia in relation to the political order in the West Asia region be explained? The hypothesis posited is that Iran's strategy in the region is centered on garnering support from Russia to counter the influence of countries opposed to Iran, while Russia's strategy is security-focused and seeks to exert influence as an extra-regional power. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the information was gathered from bibliographic sources. The most important findings of the research indicated that Iran's foreign policy strategy concerning Russia in the region should be based on a realistic perspective, grounded in international and regional cooperation through the identification of common objectives. It should also align with Russia in shared opposition and avoid engaging in conflicts between the two countries.