Three Decades of Iran’s Policy of Exporting the Islamic Revolution Politics, Ends, and Means

Abstract

Three decades after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s foreign
policy remains committed to “exporting the revolution” (sodoure
enqelab). Through this policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran wants
to make the world safe for not only Islam and Muslims, but for all
oppressed people around the world. The idea is based on the ideology
of Imam Khomeini, who presented it in a general way in his
important work on jurisprudence. To him, the role of Imam is to
preserve the Islamic ummah’s unity, liberate the Islamic homeland
from the seizure and influence of the colonizers and their puppet
governments, and initiate the just Islamic government.
In this article, I explore the politics, ends, and means of exporting
the revolution in the overall context of Iran’s foreign policy
as well as show how the divinely inspired nature of the revolution
was to bring Islamic justice to humanity and the various
peaceful and coercive means it adopted to provide happiness,
well-being, and salvation to all nations. To Imam Khomeini and
his followers, the final end of “great Islamic community” could
not be achieved in the current arrogant international society without
helping the disintegrated Muslim nations to unite with each
other and using adequate force.