Israel and the origins of Iran's Arab option: Dissection of a strategy misunderstood

Abstract

This article argues that Iran's "Arab option" - the Arab and pro-Palestinian tilt in Iran's foreign policy - did not emerge out of the ideological musings of Iran's Islamic revolutionaries, but out of Iran's new-found position of preeminence in the later Years ofthe Shah's rule. The sustainability of Iran's regional leadership required Arab acceptance and support, which could only be won through a pro-Arab orientation in Iran's foreign policy.