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\u003cp\u003eSince the onset of the Islamic Revolution of 1978-9 the Iranian foreign policy motto has been “Neither East, nor West, Islamic Republic”. But one has to consider that Iran has always been more East than West by both necessity and design. Faced with the economic consequences of Western containment, Iran put aside its historic rivalry with Russia, and included it in its Look East policy – referring to China, Russia and India. Iran’s inclusion of Russia in its Eastern vision is a political manoeuvre made by the Iranian clerical establishment in general, and the Supreme Leader in particular.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nTo achieve foreign policy independence, the Islamic Republic not only became more dependent on Russia and China, but also relied on the theocratic state’s harsh anti-US ideological rhetoric; an ideological dimension that presents a strategic disadvantage for Iranian diplomats in negotiating with the three non-Western countries, impeding their ability to leverage Tehran-Washington relations to balance increasing partnership with eastern countries. Despite this disadvantage, the political landscape under the Trump administration presents an opportunity for Iranian hard-line factions in search of presumed ideological purity, and in opposing the economic rapprochement with European countries.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRead the full article at \u003ca href=\u0022https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/irans-neither-east-nor-west-slogan-today-22234\u0022\u003eISPI\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_WjD1Xl82kWKOF0bwywBhg"))});
\u003cspan style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333;\"\u003eThe Iranian\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333;\"\u003eclerical establishment is weakening the Islamic Republic\u0026rsquo;s standing both regionally and internationally\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333;\"\u003e, in part, because the Khomeinist worldview is still dominating the decision-making process of the Iranian foreign policy.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e
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