The onetime “axis of evil” member has built what it calls an “axis of resistance,” stretching through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon. Iranian forces or allied militias are now basically on the doorsteps of Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s most important regional adversaries. An alliance against Iran has tightened, with the United States, Israel and the Gulf countries united in opposition. But if they are now more committed than ever to challenging Iran’s reach, their abilities are limited. They are bogged down in an aerial war against Iranian-aligned rebels in Yemen, and their reliance on checkbook diplomacy has left them with little influence in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Source: New York Times May 13, 2018 16:30 UTC