Iran assembles Middle East coalition with China and Russia as US influence wanes

2024-01-15 13:48:44

With China and Russia as its allies, the regime in Tehran continues to assemble a Middle Eastern coalition as Washington’s influence in the region wanes. Iran continues to operate Hezbollah from the north, Hamas from Gaza, the pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. In the meantime, the journalist Simon Tisdell wrote today (Monday) in his column in the “Guardian” that the US is no longer the greatest power in the Middle East, but Iran is.

“The first of what may be one of many US-led airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels marks another alarming milestone in a long trajectory of US political failure in the Middle East, the most decisive and significant, at the center of which remains the conflict The Israeli-Palestinian conflict without any solution. The fact that the US, with the support of Britain, had to use force in response to the Houthi attacks that are suffocating the trade on the ships in the Red Sea reflects an unpleasant reality: Washington’s political leverage is diminishing, its diplomacy is ineffective. Undeterred, the Houthis declared that the attacks would continue.”

conveys messages. Joe Biden (Photo: Reuters)

“This escalation highlights another fact. The dominant power in the Middle East is no longer the US, Egypt aligned to the West, Saudi Arabia or even Israel. It is the main ally of the Houthis, Iran. It’s easy to talk about winners and losers amid the horrific massacre in Gaza – which the Houthis say fueled their campaign. And yet from a strategic point of view, it is clear who comes out with the upper hand in this crisis. In fighting by proxy forces, Iran’s position is strengthened by every Palestinian casualty, Hezbollah missile, Iraqi and Syrian bombing and Houthi drone.”

“US President Joe Biden has alienated world and American opinion by unconditionally supporting Israel, after the atrocities committed by Hamas and vetoing UN ceasefire plans. His policy in the Middle East seems outdated and disconnected. The US, which has never Was not popular in the Arab world, tolerated as a necessary evil, but not anymore. Non-Arab Iran is now sitting in the driving seat.”

Construction in Iran (Photo: Iran’s Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)

“Israel has also received a strategic wake-up call since October 7, although its more extreme politicians still don’t realize it. The horrors of Gaza have permanently changed, for the worse, how the country is perceived – witness the unprecedented accusations of genocide leveled at The Hague. Saudi Ambassador to London, Khalid Ben Bender told the BBC last week that the Jewish state should no longer be treated as a special case.

All these are a push forward by Iran’s aggressive authoritarian regime. Mollus has three main foreign policy goals: to push the US, the diabolical enemy since the Islamic revolution in 1979, out of the Middle East, to maintain its upper hand in the region, and to strengthen key alliances with China and Russia. The destruction of Israel, real or rhetorical, comes only Then”.

Ali Khamenei (Photo: Reuters)

“When it works together with Hamas in Gaza, the Palestinian factions in the West Bank and the militias based in Iraq and Syria, it is clear that Iran has established a coalition controlled from afar, which strengthens its position more than the United States. Bombing the Houthi bases, instead of pushing for a ceasefire in Yemen’s long civil war, will not change the This reality. It is more likely to fuel Tehran’s anti-Western, anti-Israel narrative of resistance.”

“China and Russia are Iran’s new good friends. And this, more than any other factor, has changed Iran’s fortunes, making it a force to be reckoned with. The invasion of Ukraine, and the previous “borderless” Sino-Russian cooperation agreement, were the catalyst for this transition. After 45 years of trying, Iran is finally the big boy in the region. Tehran’s sanctions, ostracism and threats have not worked. The US, Britain – and Israel – face a formidable adversary, part of a tripartite global alliance backed by strong militias and economic might. A new diplomatic approach is urgently needed if a wider confrontation is to be avoided.”