This book aims to offer insights into the ideological motives behind Tehran's behaviour in the international arena, considering the twin desires to protect Iran's national interests, and to project raw power. This can then be used to understand the current foreign policy of Iran in the region and generate an informed prognosis about Tehran's diplomatic moves in the future. Given the ongoing instability in the Middle East and Iran's growing importance as a regional power, it is vital to determine the areas where it actions may threaten the economic, security, and political interests of the international community. At the same time it is also important to identify cases where Tehran could be a team player. This may offer chances to build more constructive relations with Iran in the longer term.

Tehran's vision of its current foreign policy priorities is mainly shaped by the views of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his conservative supporters who still see the Islamic republic as a “besieged fortress”. For them, the improvement in relations with the West that started after the signing of the JCPOA in mid-2015 is believed to be just a temporary break in the endless struggle for Iran's national interests. For instance, within this approach Tehran's involvement in Syria is believed to be part of the greater strategy designed by the Supreme Leader and his team whose final goal is to secure the right of the Islamic republic to regional supremacy. The Iranian conservatives even formulated the concept of the “chain/line of defense” that comprises Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. According to the authors of this theory, each of these countries represents the “front line” of the Iranian defense against international and regional opponents of the Islamic republic who strive to undermine its influence in the Middle East. Consequently the weakening of the Iranian presence in any of these four states can have far-reaching negative consequences for Tehran's geostrategic plans.