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Iran's Foreign and Defense Policies

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Iran's Foreign and Defense Policies Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Updated March 15, 2019 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov R44017 SUMMARY R44017 Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies March 15, 2019 Iran’s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran’s Islamic revolution; perception of threats Kenneth Katzman to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the inte- Specialist in Middle raction of the Iranian regime’s factions and constituencies. Iran’s leadership: Eastern Affairs [email protected] Seeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. For a copy of the full report, please call 7-.... or visit Has sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a www.crs.gov. power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. Seeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of “greatness” reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. Advances its foreign policy goals, in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region’s “oppressed” and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. Sometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran’s national security core goals. Iran’s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif support Iran’s integration into regional and international diplomacy. Supports acts of international terrorism, as the “leading” or “most active” state sponsor of terrorism, according to each annual State Department report on international terrorism since the early 1990s. The Administration insists that an end to Iran’s malign activities is a requirement of any revised JCPOA and normalization of relations with the United States. The Trump Administration has articulated a strategy to counter Iran’s “malign activities” based on: Pressuring Iran economically through U.S. and multilateral sanctions. President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and reimposed all U.S. sanctions as of November 5, 2018. Attempting to diplomatically, politically, and economically isolate Iran. Training, arming, and providing counterterrorism assistance to partner governments and some allied substate actors in the region. Deploying some U.S. forces in the region to deter Iran or interdict its arms shipments to its allies and proxies. Indirectly threatening military action against Iranian actions that pose an immediate threat to U.S. regional interests or allies. Congressional Research Service Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Iran’s Policy Motivators .................................................................................................................. 1 Threat Perception ...................................................................................................................... 1 Ideology .................................................................................................................................... 2 National Interests ...................................................................................................................... 2 Factional Interests, Competition, and Public Opinion .............................................................. 3 Instruments of Iran’s National Security Strategy ............................................................................ 4 Support to Allied Regimes and Groups and Use of Terrorism .................................................. 4 Direct Military Action ............................................................................................................... 5 Other Political Action/Cyberattacks .......................................................................................... 6 Diplomacy ................................................................................................................................. 8 Iran’s Nuclear and Defense Programs ............................................................................................. 8 Nuclear Program ....................................................................................................................... 8 Iran’s Nuclear Intentions and Activities.............................................................................. 9 International Diplomatic Efforts to Address Iran’s Nuclear Program............................... 10 The Obama Administration and the JCPOA ...................................................................... 11 The Trump Administration and the JCPOA ...................................................................... 12 Missile Programs and Chemical and Biological Weapons Capability .................................... 13 Chemical and Biological Weapons ................................................................................... 13 Missiles ............................................................................................................................. 14 Conventional and “Asymmetric Warfare” Capability ............................................................. 18 Asymmetric Warfare Capacity .......................................................................................... 18 Military-to-Military Relationships .................................................................................... 19 Iranian Arms Transfers and U.N. Restrictions .................................................................. 20 Defense Budget ................................................................................................................. 20 Countering Iran’s Malign Activities .............................................................................................. 23 Near East Region..................................................................................................................... 25 The Persian Gulf ............................................................................................................... 25 Iranian Threat to the Gulf and U.S.-GCC Efforts to Counter Iran .................................... 29 Iranian Policy on Iraq, Syria, and the Islamic State ................................................................ 36 Iraq .................................................................................................................................... 36 Syria .................................................................................................................................. 39 Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Anti-Israel Groups.................................................................... 42 Israel.................................................................................................................................. 42 Hamas ............................................................................................................................... 43 Hezbollah .......................................................................................................................... 44 Yemen...................................................................................................................................... 46 Turkey ..................................................................................................................................... 48 North Africa ............................................................................................................................ 49 Egypt ................................................................................................................................. 49 Morocco ............................................................................................................................ 49 South and Central Asia .................................................................................................................. 50 The South Caucasus: Azerbaijan and Armenia ....................................................................... 50 Central Asia ............................................................................................................................. 51 Turkmenistan .................................................................................................................... 52 Tajikistan ........................................................................................................................... 52 Congressional Research Service Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies Kazakhstan ........................................................................................................................ 53 Uzbekistan ........................................................................................................................ 53 South Asia ............................................................................................................................... 54 Afghanistan ......................................................................................................................
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