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Iranian Perspectives on Security in the Persian Gulf

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Kamran Taremi
Kamran Taremi*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of Tehran
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Extract

Iran is the most Important Regional Player in the Persian Gulf. It has the region's strongest military. No other navy in the region matches Iran’s. Its GNP is larger than that of most other littoral states and its industrial base more sophisticated. It is also by far the most populous state in the Gulf. Geographically, Iran borders the entire northern shores of the Persian Gulf. Iranian territory also forms the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz. This and multiple islands in the vicinity of the strait give Iran the ability to control this strategic choke point. Consequently, Iranian views on security in the Persian Gulf are worthy of special attention.

This paper explores these views in an attempt to answer such questions as: What are Iranian perspectives on Gulf security? What are the factors that have shaped these perspectives? How have these perspectives influenced policy and how have they evolved over time?

Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , September 2003 , pp. 381 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Iranian Studies 2003

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References

1. For the views of the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on this subject, for instance, see Iṭṭilāᶜāt (18 January 1982): 14.

2. Chubin, Shahram, Iran's National Security Policy: Capabilities, Intentions and Impact (Washington, DC, 1994), 8Google Scholar.

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