ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has adopted the use of proxies as a chief element of its strategy to attain its regional objectives. The authors argue that Iran has crafted this strategy as a response to the 9/11 conflicts. In the years following al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States, Iran’s proxy activities have spread to several regions, including the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and South America. The strategy has also been used in cyber-space. The nature of Tehran’s relationship with its clients, the authors show, takes different forms in each region. While Iran’s use of proxies comes at great financial cost, that Tehran has employed this strategy with great skill, projecting power and influence against their adversaries, while maintaining plausible deniability.
