?Tehran, August 12, The Iran Project -Nations usually enter into pacts and partnership with like-minded countries since they seek the mutual advantages they cannot achieve separately. Iran is not any exception to this rule and has regularly pursued the strong strategic alliances with wide range of countries both in the Middle East and in Latin America or Africa.

The Iran's strategic pacts directly affected its management of the crisis in Syria, the 33-day war of Israel on Hezbollah, the NATO's crippling condition in Afghanistan and to the lesser extent in Iraq and so on. So the Iran's alliance, as a prominent manifest of its power, has been the persistent feature of the political landscape of the Middle East for over three decades.

While this leverage has been mostly applied by military officials, Iran's nuclear negotiators have rarely used it to maximize the benefits during the talks. Rouhani's presidency, however, paved the way for a major shift in the perspective toward the issue of Iran's regional power.

Having more than three decades of high-profile background in nuclear, political and security posts mean President Rouhani knows well how to play the game of regional politics, taking advantage of the alliances developed during the past decades. The debate of Iran's alliances is the one which has been extensively highlighted by the US media to convince the public that the only way to contain Iran's rising influence is to enchain Iran's nuclear program through the nuclear deal.

However, when it comes to the US struggle against ISIS, the Americans speak about the partnering with Tehran not only on the ISIS adventure in Iraq but also on a range of the regional crises.

Some commentaries even go further to analyze that the combat against ISIS has been the real issue behind the nuclear talks.�According to the Western media, Major General Soleimani as the head of the Iran's Quds Force is the one who can ensure the wins against the terrorist group.�Basically the US administrations' approach is not to involve in Iraq and Syria, since it may take the advantage of Quds Force, and Hezbollah as the means by which ISIS can be permanently repelled both in Iraq and Syria.

To conclude, the Shia crescent as a historical ally provides Iran with a highly valuable strategic depth in the region, which enables it to extend influence over Israel and Sunni Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia. This reality together with the recent landmark nuclear deal, which has led to a major reconfiguration in the Middle East politics, has highlighted the significance of the Iran's rising sociopolitical influence ahead of the US and other powers.

Yet, the efforts to isolate Iran are likely to be undermined by the fact that U.S and its partners are turning to Iran to help dislodge the terror network. Lastly, while the current developments in the Middle East are mostly in favor of Iran, it is not certain as to what extent Iran can successfully incorporate the instrument of the regional alliance and power in its foreign policy directions.