«SOFT POWER» AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN IN THE GREATER EURASIA

The article provides analysis of the soft power and public diplomacy potential of the Islamic Republic of Iran, one of the key players within the Greater Eurasia. Iran has been in confrontational relations with the United States for almost half a century, is subject to various sanctions from the collective West, and is the target of attacks in the information space discrediting its sovereign path of development. Considering this, official Tehran strives to create an international image of a peace-loving state with a rich history and cultural traditions. The article examines the soft power technologies and public diplomacy tools used by Iran to solve this problem. The authors come to the conclusion that the conceptual foundations of the country’s foreign policy, cultural and historical heritage and tourism potential, the Farsi language, religious, educational diplomacy, media and digital diplomacy and the digitalization process are effective tools of Iran’s soft power and public diplomacy that are to assist in achieving significant success of Iran in regional and world politics.