Iran has long been an influential power in its surrounding region, with a focus on the Arab states to its west, and support for allied governments and non-state actors in them.
However, a visit by the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, to Tehran on May 30 and the opening of a new Iranian drone factory in the Tajik capital Dushanbe two weeks earlier, are evidence of Iran’s “look to the East” foreign policy orientation, as the country pursues greater engagement with non-Western countries.
