Mehran Kamrava
Doha, Qatar: As Iran’s policy towards the East gains momentum, Dr. Seyed Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour, Professor of International Relations at the School of International Relations in Tehran has disclosed that Iran’s policy is influenced by accumulated reasons, need to build structures in the East and to form strong bilateral relationships.
In a keynote remark yesterday during the opening of the two-day Iran’s Look East Policy conference organised by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) at Doha Institute, Dr. Sajjadpour, revealed the conceptual framework of Iran’s policy towards the East and the significance to the global South.
Over the past few years, Iran has continuously evolved closer to major players in Asia and the broader East, including China, Russia, Japan, India, and its Arab neighbours.
In September 2021, Iran took its first steps within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), overseen by Russia and China. It is also reportedly invited to join the economic bloc BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Iran has recently warmed up to its Arab neighbours, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Seyed Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour
During his talk, Dr. Sajjadpour said while Iran is angry with the West, the historical relations between Iran and the West have always seen Iran treated poorly. He added that Iran’s policy is implemented out of the country’s interest and shows that Iran can create partnership spaces with other countries without the West.
Dr. Sajjadpour added that since Iran belongs to the East geopolitically, it is only fitting for the country to seek relations with countries surrounding it. He also stressed that beyond political interests, the civilisational factor Iran shares with several countries like Russia, India, China and others who are prominent civilisation actors is also a component of Iran’s policy.
Dr. Sajjadpour concluded his conceptual framework by adding that strengthening bilateral relationships with all actors in the East, like Japan, Turkey, China, and India and across the global South forms part of Iran’s policy. He added that the countries in the global South have become significant players in international affairs and are attracting partnerships with other countries besides Iran. He stressed that despite the promises of the policy, Iran still contends with problems many global South countries face, and the policy also gets wrong narratives from the West.
Head of the Iranian Studies Unit at ACPRS and Professor of Government at Georgetown University Qatar, Mehran Kamrava highlighted the latest development in Iran’s Look East Policy.
Meanwhile, during the first panel, Diana Galeeva discussed Iran’s Look East Policy and the Emerging New World Order. She discussed the alliances between Iran, China and Russia and the prospects of a new world order from the partnership. On the other hand, Olivia Glombitza, in her paper, analysed Iran’s use of popular culture and symbolic politics in its foreign policy to strengthen ties with its neighbours and reach the younger generation and a global audience.
To conclude the panel, Kadhim Hashim Niama noted the challenges of the Look East policy. He highlighted the limitations to partnerships with China, negative economic impacts, deprived investment opportunities and more.
In the second panel, speakers discussed the impact of the policy on the Arab world, with Iraq and Egypt as examples.
Harith Hasan, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, discussed how the “pivot to the East” has become part of Iraq’s political and intellectual debate and how Iranian policy influences it.
Huda Raouf, a Professor at New Giza University, explored internal Iranian motives for pursuing neighbourhood diplomacy and the regional and international contexts that facilitate and hinder its success. She addressed Egyptian-Iranian relations as a model for Iran’s endeavour to benefit from a regional détente and the Egyptian response to these attempts.
The third panel on Iran-Russia relations saw Li-Chen Sim, Assistant Professor at Khalifa University, analyse Russian-Iranian economic relations and how much Moscow contributes to Iran’s Look East orientation. Abdolrasool Divsallar, from Milan’s Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, discussed insights into the perception of Russia inside the Iranian military-industrial complex.
Eric Lob and Mazaher Koruzhde, from Florida International University and Howard University, argued that recurring protests, economic sanctions, and other pressures inside and outside of Iran have made it more risk-seeking in pursuing its geopolitical goals of gaining concessions from the US and its allies and partners in Western Europe and the Middle East.
