Iranian Architecture of the Middle East

Lazić, Vuk and Babić, Danilo (2021) Iranian Architecture of the Middle East. In: Convergence and Confrontation: The Balkans and the Middle East in the 21st Century. Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, pp. 83-111. ISBN 978-86-7067-293-2

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Abstract

The Middle East region has always been a politically significant and unstable area with the permanent scramble of various regional and global actors. Due to circumstances at the international, regional and domestic level, we can perceive consolidation and a growing tendency of the Iranian regional presence. The cultural and historical foundations of Iran's regional position date back to the distant past. Simultaneously, the geopolitical, economic, and military prerequisites of its modern rise have been present for several decades, especially after the Arab Spring. After the Islamic revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, and international interventions against Iraq, the Arab Spring stood out as one of the most complex challenges for Iran, which in certain phases threatened to lead to its complete geopolitical and economic isolation. Nevertheless, an important role in the hard-won strategic victories in Iraq and Syria has enabled Iran to extend its multidimensional presence along the historically important geopolitical corridor that stretches from the Iran-Iraq-Syria to Lebanon. After examining the strategic determinants and the regional conjuncture as preconditions and the basis of Iran's regional presence, the article clarifies Iran's vision of the Middle East and its dynamic engagement in the region. Iran's activities are first and foremost aimed at political and military consolidation, and then towards economic and infrastructural connection among the countries of the region. In this context, special emphasis was placed on Iran's relations with key Middle Eastern countries and global actors, without neglecting the internal and regional restrictions imposed on Iran in the realization of its foreign policy goals.

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