Post-revolutionary Iran's asymmetric power capacity and security strategy in quest of regional power

In this study, the asymmetrical power capacity, which forms the basis of the defense and security strategy of the Iran in the regional competition after the Islamic revolution, will be examined with the qualitative findings obtained as a result of the researches. The main problematic of the study is whether these asymmetrical power elements, which Iran has focused on recently, contribute to its foreign policy making and its influence in the region. The main purpose of determining this field of study is that the research conducted in Türkiye is limited and in particular, studies on the impact of asymmetric power elements on Iranian foreign policy making cannot be considered in a holistic manner. In the table that emerged as a result of the researches, it was observed that the presence of asymmetrical power capacity and irregular warfare tactics had a constructive effect in the target geography of Iran. With the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, important reforms were made in the field of defense and security. Before Khomeini, the Iranian military power was largely liquidated and the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), affiliated to the revolutionary guide, was established. IRGC has an important place in shaping today's Iranian security policy. On the other hand, at the beginning of the 1990s and right after the Iraq war, Iran went to a new concept in its struggle in the Middle East and revised its defense and security strategy in this direction. As a result of the long war, both Iran and Iraq could not reach the desired result and were exposed to a great human resource and physical destruction. In this process, Iran has taken great lessons from this war and reviewed its defense strategy. In this direction, it has been observed that the Iranian bureaucracy has made serious investments in unconventional tactics and elements in the Iranian military power. As a result, it has been observed that Iran has a say in today's Iraqi politics by supporting the Shiite asymmetrical power elements in the region, especially after the United States of America (USA) invasion of Iraq in 2003. It has also been confirmed as a result of the findings that it has followed a similar concept in Syria since 2011. In this study, Iran's unconventional military activities in the mainland were examined and its impact capacity in Syria and Iraq was examined.