The impact of America's smart hybrid warfare strategy on the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Subject Areas : International Relations

Hossein Haji ¹ , reza simbar ^{2 *}

1 -
2 - Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Gilan, Gilan, Iran

Received: 2024-12-05 Accepted : 2025-02-16 Published : 2025-06-04

Keywords: Smart power, hybrid warfare, United States of America, Islamic Republic of Iran, national security,

Abstract :

The methods of America's confrontation with Iran in the past less than two decades indicate the use of a smart hybrid warfare strategy in confrontation with this country. This research sought to answer the question of what impact the US hybrid war strategy has had on Iran's national security, using a descriptive-analytical method to test the hypothesis and documentary and library studies and interviews to collect data, using the smart power theory. The results indicate that the hybrid war against Iran, using diverse methods and tools and a multidimensional and flexible approach, has been a complex effort to simultaneously weaken Iran's political, security, military, economic, and social power.This strategy, along with the imposition of sanctions and economic pressure, has attempted to portray Iran as a global threat and intensify its international isolation through false imagery and negative thinking. And at the same time, by inciting internal discontent in Iran and instilling public distrust in government institutions, it will challenge the national cohesion and legitimacy of the Iranian government. This strategy, by emphasizing polarization and fueling ethnic and religious divisions, has pushed Iranian society toward divergence and has reinforced a sense of insecurity and anxiety in society through sedition and social and economic crises.This has led to a decline in public morale, a gradual collapse of social solidarity, and a limitation of the national ability to confront internal and external threats, ultimately exposing Iran's national security to serious risks.

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