Iran in the Middle East: leveraging chaos

Iran has been the most effective country at leveraging the ongoing disorder across the Middle East to expand its regional influence. Tehran has done this by providing substantial political, military and financial backing to allies and proxies in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. However, this expansion of Iranian influence has come with some costs. For example, because it has supported mainly Shiite groups, Iran’s image as a pan-Islamic power has been damaged in the predominantly Sunni Arab world. Furthermore, the revolutionary regime in Tehran shows no signs of lessening its ideological antipathy towards the United States and its Middle Eastern allies. Despite the pending nuclear deal, therefore, relations with the US are unlikely to be realigned, while relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, look set to deteriorate further.