Abstract
This chapter deals with Iran’s increasing relations with the violent non-state actors (VNSAs) in the Middle East in general and during the Syrian civil war in particular. In doing so, it tries to look at the interplay between the isolation imposed by the international order to Iran and its attitude toward VNSAs. To empirically analyze that, this chapter delves into the ISIS and YPG cases with an eye to explaining Iran’s shifting policy preferences stemming from its position in the international order. Furthermore, this chapter also looks at Iran’s engagements with the ISIS and YPG in relation to its engagements with other regional actors, particularly Turkey. This chapter concludes that amidst the proxy relations with various VNSAs in the region, it is the YPG, not ISIS, that would be the key actor in sealing the fate of Syria and Iraq in the future.
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