ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the literature on Iranian foreign policy making since the 1990s. It reviews the nature and stability of the Iranian regime and its crucial implications for foreign policy making. The chapter examines the formal actors and institutions involved in Iran's foreign policy decision-making process at the state level of analysis. It also reviews the personality of Ali Khamenei and his political perceptions of domestic and foreign policy. The central figure in Iranian foreign policy making during the period under study is the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has remained resolute and consistent over the last quarter century and now has solidified his position as the director of Iranian foreign policy. Reviewing Ayatollah Khamenei's speeches between 1998 and 2008, Sadjadpour elucidates the extent to which his foreign policy positions rely on ideological grounds. The stability of a political regime along with domestic political structures and actors have influenced the conduct of foreign policy in Iran.
