Facing a Grave Threat, Iran Is Isolated
Only a few years ago, Iran and its allies were at their height of power and influence.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon. The Houthis in Yemen were a small but formidable militia, stymying international shipping in the Red Sea. In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad was finding his way back to the Arab fold after years of isolation.
And Iran itself, despite being battered by years of sanctions, was proving its value as an ally to Russia, supporting the Kremlin in its war with Ukraine.
Fast forward, and those allies and proxy militias are nowhere to be found. Iran is the most isolated it has been since the early years of the Islamic Republic, its theocracy on its own as it confronts among the most severe threat to its rule in decades with attacks by Israel and now the United States.
While its Arab neighbors and allies like Russia and China were quick to condemn Israel's attacks on Iran, they have stopped short of offering any concrete support. Iran no longer has an ally in Syria since the ouster of the Assad regime.
And its network of militias are battered after a year and a half of war with Israel. Hezbollah, once seen as Iran's most powerful proxy, has not launched a single attack on Israel since its latest bombardment of Iran began. After the United States attacked Iran, the Houthis said they were poised to resume attacks on the Red Sea, but it is not clear they can provide substantial support for Iran.
'What we're witnessing now across the region is nothing short of the collapse of Iran's decades-long strategy and ability to project influence,' said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute based in Washington.
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