The followers of American affairs and American interests in the Middle East, particularly those leading the international coalition against ISIS in eastern Syria, question the rationale behind allowing Iran a significant foothold in Syria. This is especially perplexing given that Iran has an anti-Western liberal democracy and is expanding its influence in Syrian territory. Is America becoming geopolitically shortsighted in Syrian geography, or is it using Iran to execute its strategic plans in the region?
Geopolitics, as the study of the impact of land on politics, raises questions about why American geopolitics in Syria allows Iran to gain control over valuable resources such as phosphates, gas, space, coasts, and ports. It seems evident that the United States has assigned Iran a functional role in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, focusing on proxy wars for division, sabotage, entity-building, and the resurgence of fiefdoms at the expense of states, threatening and extorting nations.
It is no secret that the influence of the United States in Syria faces strong Russian competition, taking advantage of American relaxation towards Iran. Russia plays a role in exploiting the Russian-Iranian rapprochement to acquire gas fields in Homs and Qalamoun, as well as phosphates. Russia transforms its economic power into military strength daily, using Syrian fields, lands, and provinces to test its strategic weapons in an attempt to challenge the United States’ global dominance. Some countries have shifted allegiance from the American orbit to the Russian or Chinese spheres, with China seeking dominance in the South China Sea and Southeast Asia.
Undoubtedly, Syria and Iraq have receded in priority for the United States, especially in the Middle East, with the Persian Gulf ranking second or third in American strategic priorities. America’s interest in the Gulf is not solely dependent on Gulf oil but primarily for control over the oil sources and routes supplying these rising powers that compete with it.
Hezbollah’s Battle with Pillars:
Iran has created various and disparate entities based on ideology to implement its plans and projects in Arab countries, relying on a religious discourse built on myths and legends. This discourse portrays a perpetual enemy to incite its recruited followers to join its militias and fight without understanding who the real enemy is.
The precise ballistic missiles possessed by Iran, under the umbrella of Hezbollah and Iranian militias, are not aimed at Israel and never will be. Instead, they are programmed to bombard Arab cities, similar to the Houthi group targeting Saudi Arabia’s oil regions. The main reason lies in the belief of the major operator of Hezbollah and Iranian militias, which sees these actions as a means to create pretexts for Israel to bombard and destroy Lebanon, causing economic, tourist, military, cultural, scientific, and agricultural exhaustion by preventing students from going to schools and farmers from tending to their fields, leading them to seek refuge in shelters.
The Houthis’ launch of ballistic missiles from Yemen towards Israel is merely a release valve for Israel, facing external and internal pressure to stop the war on Gaza. It is also encouraged by media messages portraying Israel as facing a significant threat to its existence. Similarly, Hezbollah’s Lebanese missiles, affiliated with Iran, assist Netanyahu in advancing the war, ignoring the calls of the families of prisoners calling for the war to stop.
Thus, Hezbollah operates under Iranian decisions, coordinating with America and Israel to achieve two goals:
- Preserving its image as a defender rather than an aggressor against Israel, particularly in the eyes of Lebanese and Syrian audiences.
- Creating the illusion for the Lebanese public that it is in a defensive, not offensive, position against Israel, saving Lebanon from significant losses.
In reality, such parties operating outside the scope of the state, relying on support from regional powers, are considered mercenary militias. They receive financial and military allocations from outside the state and do not answer to the state’s army. If we look back twelve years, Hezbollah swiftly entered Syria and immediately engaged in killing peaceful civilians when it executed an airdrop with combat helicopters on the eighteenth of March 2011, initiating live gunfire against the Syrian people in a killing zone.
Iran and Hezbollah, as theocratic regimes, cannot enter Syria without America’s permission, especially since Iran is part of the axis of evil.
