Arms Control and Iranian Foreign Policy

Book excerpt: Since 2003, when the world learned that the Islamic Republic of Iran had succeeded in secretly developing a capability to enrich uranium and separate plutonium, the question of Iran’s nuclear program has ranked high on the international political and arms control agenda. This book studies the IRI’s diplomatic operations in the issue area of arms control and demonstrates how arms control diplomacy has formed an integral part of the IRI’s foreign policy during the various phases of its history. Furthermore, it fills a gap in the research literature on Iran’s foreign and security policies by providing the first comprehensive account of Iranian arms control diplomacy under the Islamic regime. This book aims at reconstructing Iran’s diplomatic operations in four distinct thematic areas of arms control: conventional, chemical, biological, and nuclear arms control. It also looks at the diplomatic means by which the IRI’s leadership has tried to achieve its arms control objectives. This text also seeks to identify and examine the individual objectives that have guided Iranian policy choices in the domain of arms control. Finally, it places the reconstructed Iranian objectives into a broader context by elaborating on the fundamental values or foreign policy goals that the IRI’s arms control objectives have served. This highly informative and thought provoking volume will be valuable reading for students, researchers and academics, as well as for commentators and policy-makers interested in Middle East studies, Iranian studies, international relations and arms control.