Public diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran refers to the public relations efforts to disseminate information about the Islamic Republic of Iran. Such efforts seek to communicate with foreign publics in order to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. Instruments of public diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran include cultural exchanges, film and print media, and sports diplomacy. Definition There is no standard definition of public diplomacy. Public Diplomacy is that "form of international Political Advocacy in which the civilians of one country use legitimate means to reach out to the civilians of another country in order to gain popular support for negotiations occurring through diplomatic channels." The United States Information Agency, the predecessor to the U.S. State Department's Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, defines as public diplomacy as efforts that seek "to promote the national interest of … through understanding, informing and influencing foreign audiences." The U.S. State Department's "Dictionary of International Relations Terms" defines public diplomacy as anything that "refers to government-sponsored programs intended to inform or influence public opinion in other countries; its chief instruments are publications, motion pictures, cultural exchanges, radio and television." Michael McClellan, one time Public Diplomacy Counselor for the U.S. Embassy Dublin, notes that "public diplomacy [is] the strategic planning and execution of informational, cultural and educational programming by an advocate country to create a public opinion environment in a target country or countries that will enable target country political leaders to make decisions that are supportive of advocate country's foreign policy objectives." The distinguishing factor between diplomacy and public diplomacy is the target audience. Where traditional diplomacy focuses on governments communicating with one another, public diplomacy seeks to engage foreign citizens and publics in order to change opinions and perceptions. Public diplomacy may present a point of view that differs than that of the targeted population's home government. In such cases, critics argue that public diplomacy is a new word for influence operations and/or propaganda. Cultural diplomacy The U.S. Department of State defines cultural diplomacy as the "linchpin of public diplomacy; for it is in cultural activities that a nation's idea of itself is best represented." Further, cultural diplomacy seeks to demonstrate national values which might be shared with foreign audiences. The Islamic Republic of Iran relies on its cultural heritage and exchanges as a basis for its public diplomacy campaign. According to B.Bahriev