ABSTRACT
In a speech delivered in February 2002, US President George Bush defined Iran as a member of the "Axis of Evil" that supports terror and is involved in an attempt to create weapons for mass destruction. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Iran has appeared on the US State Department's list of states that support terror. The chapter discusses the issue of Iranian state-supported terror from as wide an angle as possible, and does not limit itself to the Israeli aspect and the connection to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The study emphasizes that Iran views terror as an effective tool to further its objectives, as a substitute for or supplementary measure to diplomatic processes, and that terror constitutes a "legitimate" means in the Iranian regime's battle against its external and internal rivals and enemies. Iranian foreign policy is characterized by a combination of revolutionary ideology and radical modi operandi, on the one hand, and pragmatic policy, on the other.
