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This article examines the security policies of the Shah's regime towards the .Middle East between 1962 and 1979. It argues that the Shah perceived two chief external threats to the stability of his thrown: communism and radical Arab nationalism. Thus, the main goal of the regime's security policies was to contain these threats. The chief means the regime employed for this purpose was the armed forces which were rapidly expanded and heavily armed. The Shah aso forged a tacit alliance with other pro-American regimes to coordinate its efforts against communist and radical Arab states in the region. After 1973 it also used cheque book diplomacy extensively in support of its goals. The article concludes that the regime's security policies in tandem with its alliances had a decisive role in tiltinQ: the re(!ional balance of power in favour the Middle East.