Since the Iranian Studies Discipline created, different perspectives have taken shape and serve to present different representations of Iran. The purpose of this research is to identify the discourses of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, as examples for contemporary institutions active in the field of Iranian Studies that comprise a range of different viewpoints of scholars participating in that area. Thus, through an analysis of this encyclopedia, several approaches and their possible discourse(s) can be identified based on various individual and institutional dimensions. In this research, thematic analysis and Van Dijk Critical Discourse Analysis are being used as methods to study the Iran-Iraq War raised in the relevant entries in the encyclopedia. Results show that perspectives relating to Iran in this encyclopedia are multi-faceted and in addition to the Western view toward the East, the perspectives of Easterners and Iranians (focusing primarily on the Iranian diaspora) toward Iran have been included. The representation of Iran in each and every one of these perspectives contains unique differing features as well as definitions of "self" and "others" with regard to Iran and the Islamic Republic. The integration of these approaches is reflected in the discourses and sub-discourses of Iranian studies in Western institutions. The study also shows that institutions and researchers may both involved in shaping these discourses; however as specifically related to the analysis of this encyclopedia, the role of personal perspectives and backgrounds of researchers outweigh the institutional role.