Note: Previously there was a clear boundary between “diplomacy”, as the most important instrument of foreign policy, and “defense”, as the most significant tool of defense policy. At the same time, military forces made no interference in political affairs. They involved   themselves   in   politics   only   upon   the   emergence   of diplomatic impasses. This was a classic approach towards the issue of strategy and war. According to this approach, war is the continuation of diplomacy, albeit with taking advantage of other instruments. At the same time, diplomacy was always weak and ineffective in its confrontation with the concept of war. Nevertheless, new international politics enabled different countries to have extensive collaboration in military and defense fields. As a result, a new orientation was defined for defense initiatives in the field of diplomacy. Now, we are faced with a very basic question: “What is the approach of armed forces and what initiatives have been carried out in this regard?” This question and other questions have been answered in an exclusive interview

with General Vahidi, the Iranian defense minister.

       Question: You have referred to the “development of defense diplomacy” as one of the top orientations of your plans and programs. This  is  an  indication  of  the  importance  of  this  issue  for  the organization  that  is  under  your  supervision.  Would  you  please elaborate on the relationship between diplomacy and the mission of armed forces?

       Answer: According to the 20 -Year - Vision Plan of the Islamic Republic of  Iran, “defense” is  the  final  and  ultimate objective of Iranian armed forces. The defense diplomacy is focused on the materialization and implementation of the deterrence strategy. It is used in the interaction between the political unit and other units of the international system. According to this strategy, deterrence is the most important principle in determining the domain of defense diplomacy, as well as, military and defense strategy. Through attaching great importance to the element of “prevention”, the defense diplomacy creates a condition in which the political unit can attain its interests and objectives and distribute power in different areas. Distribution of power in different areas means that fields of diplomacy and defense are amalgamated with each other. In other words, “inputs” of the external environment are processed in a way that finally the objective of the system is materialized. The concept of defense diplomacy is internally  associated  with  spiritual  and  material  elements.  The spiritual element of the defense diplomacy, which forms the value of such diplomacy, is focused on attaining another value, i.e. prevention of war along with further development of deterrence capabilities. Material elements of defense diplomacy are instruments and methodologies that are implemented. Defense diplomacy endeavors to amalgamate general diplomacy and the theory of defense. There are numerous instruments and methodologies that can be applied in this regard. In fact, the defense diplomacy is part of the policies of the government which can be used for the materialization of grand objectives of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Defense diplomacy can be defined as a strategy used for creating favorable political, national, and international conditions in order to protect and expand nationally vital values against possible and practical threats of the enemy.

       Question:  What  is  the  logical  relationship  between  foreign policy and defense diplomacy? Are they not obstacles for each other?

       Answer: Defense diplomacy is a concept within the context of power.  Through  taking  advantage  of  all  instruments  of  political power,  defense  diplomacy  endeavors  to  materialize  supreme objectives of a country. Therefore, it is quite natural to witness a kind of close relationship between defense diplomacy and other areas of power, such foreign policy. Political power cannot be practiced in vacuum. Rather, it acts within the context of international relations. According to this analysis, each state that intends to act within the context of international relations will certainly enter the domain of power. Defense diplomacy is an act within the context of international relations, because both of its component elements, i.e. diplomacy and defense, are essentially based on the concept of power. Countries are usually faced with success or failure in the international arena. Each country resorts to its own peculiar mechanisms for standing against threats. In such a situation, the foreign policy should be concentrated on attaining a proper understanding of the relationship between resources and international initiatives in each political system. In other words, each political system should create a kind of equilibrium between resources and its objective. At the same time, each political system should be able to enhance its potentials through taking advantage of all available instruments. In such a situation, foreign policy cannot guarantee various interests of a single country. Rather, diversification  of  aspects  of  power  can  contribute  to  the materialization of objectives through different instruments. Defense diplomacy is part of the structure of power which along with foreign policy acts as an instrument for enhancing the potentials of a country for initiation.

      Question: Can we assume a kind of logical relationship between the performance of defense diplomacy and the military prowess of a country?

      Answer: Defense diplomacy acts at three levels of governmental, regional, and international. Successful performance at each of these three levels is dependent on proper military power. Lack of such an advantage reduces defense diplomacy to mere traditional military collaborations at mutual governmental level. Mutual level collaborations includes military educations, dispatch of defense and military attaches, bilateral military cooperation, joint defense agreements, bilateral scientific (military) and technical cooperation, and negotiation for the establishment of military bases. Nevertheless, a country is required to act at the three levels of governmental, regional, and international in order to attain defense authority and achieve its grand objectives. In order to achieve this objective, a country should be able to affect regional security structures, resolve regional disputes, prevent regional confrontations, participate in security treaties, involve in UN peacekeeping operations, engage in humanitarian missions and partake in trans-regional military agreements. In fact, military prowess plays a vitally important role in defense diplomacy and the range of such an operation.

     Question: Defense diplomacy is a new concept in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We can claim that this concept was introduced to the political literature of the country by the ministry of defense. What are your approach and the approach of the ministry of defense towards this kind of diplomacy and its function in that ministry?

     Answer: As you pointed out, this concept is relatively new concept in the political literature of the country. Nevertheless, defense officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have nurtured this idea in their mind during recent years. In fact, concentration on active participation in   the   defense   diplomacy   in   order   to   enhance   the   defense infrastructure of the country has been one of the most innovative and important feature of the defense sector of the Islamic Republic of Iran during recent years. This enhancement has been associated with infrastructural and sub-structural dimensions. In infrastructural dimension, we can refer to structural development, enhancement of the productivity of defense organizations, and improvement of hardware potentials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In sub-structural dimension, we can refer to investment in defense R&D and activation of defense diplomacy. In the past, ministry of defense was mainly referred to as an organization engaged in military-defense initiatives. This ministry was mainly concerned with providing support activities to the armed forces of the country. In fact, its role in the defense diplomacy and its major effects on defense and security policies of the country had been ignored. We can consider the first decade of the 21st century as the period in which ministry of defense of the Islamic Republic  of  Iran  started  its  initiatives  in  the  area  of  defense diplomacy. Through its initiatives in the defense diplomacy, ministry of defense has achieved vitally important outcomes. In fact, adoption of such a policy helped the ministry of defense flourish its hardware capabilities and, at the same time, further develop foreign policies of the country. Ministry of defense has attained considerable achievements in strategic areas. For instance, we can refer to the presence of the ministry of defense in disarmament conventions and development of relations with major regional states, as well as, Latin American and East Asian countries. At the same time, ministry of defense has played a significantly important role in the export market of the country. As a result of such initiatives, Iran’s status in international arena has been enhanced and its power of maneuver in global affairs has been greatly increased.

     Question: What are the principles of defense diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran which cover the performance of the defense sector in international arena?

     Answer:  Basic  principles  of  the  defense  diplomacy  of  the Islamic Republic of Iran are based on irreversible principles of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic system. These principles which have been derived from major documents of the foreign policy of the country include the following cases: