14 March 2008
Abstract
Iran's geopolitical location has faced it with many challenges and threats in its security environment. The existence of regional security arrangements in most regions of the world has provided the regional countries with a sufficient level of stability and security. The Middle East is considered as one of the few regions in the world where there are no viable security arrangements. This region is fraught with a great deal of instability and insecurity.
Lack of a comprehensive and viable security system in the Middle East is related to many factors including geopolitical location, existence of vast oil and gas resources, presence of transregional powers, ethnic tensions, terrorism, failed states, and mistrust among regional actors. Given the characteristics of the Middle East and the impact of different factors at the subnational, national, regional and extra regional levels on its security, establishing any successful security arrangements requires considering all abovementioned factors in an incremental and comprehensive way.
This article reviews the models of regional security, then, it addresses security challenges facing Iran in its immediate environment. Finally, the author studies Iran's security approach in its different aspects to meet existing challenges.
Source: Diplomatic Hamshahri, No 23, March 2008
Full text in Farsi
