Iran, Syria rapprochement highlights decline in US regional influence

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Forbes
4 May 16:29
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Describing the Iranian President's visit as "a symbolic, diplomatic-political strategic, and economic," Yildiz says the global influences of China and Russia facilitated Iran's "diplomatic maneuvering" in the region.

Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad, on the right, with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Damascus on May 3, 2023 (AFP)

With Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's landmark visit to Syria where he met with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and a delegation of Palestinian Resistance movements, Iran's influence is a clear show of expansion that rivals the US global dominance; an analysis by Guney Yildiz for Forbes detailed.

Describing the Iranian President's visit as "a symbolic, diplomatic-political strategic, and economic Visit," Yildiz said the global influences of China and Russia facilitated Iran's "diplomatic maneuvering" in the region.

The writer seemed to be sidelining the fact that Iran and Syria have diplomatic relations stretching back to the 1970s, yet the importance of this visit seems to serve two specific purposes in his view.

The first is symbolic insofar as Iran and Syria have declared victory against an anti-Assad alliance at both national and regional levels.

The second is strategic insofar as the strengthening of the Syrian-Iranian alliance is pushing for both normalizations with Iran and pulling Syria out of isolation on a regional level.

Yildiz proceeded to say that this political shift is the outcome of key regional players repositioning themselves in response to China and Russia filling a political vacuum left by the US gradual "withdrawal" from the region, noting that the new Saudi-Iran political alliance has made it more difficult for the US to contain and isolate Iran.

He further stated that the Iranian-Syrian alliance would further benefit and expand China's Belt and Road Initiative as projects are underway for the construction of railways that will connect the countries through Iraq to reach Syria's port of Latakia.

On another note, he said, "Along with diplomatic finess, Iran also demonstrates aggression," implying that Iran's naval army patrolling in their own territory and ensuring their own security from foreign entities is an "offense".

He brought to attention that "Israel" and the presence of US occupation forces in Syria remains an ongoing existential threat for both Iran and Syria, suggesting that "the emboldening of the Assad regime could be counterbalanced if the US can connect its anti-Islamic State objectives with a long-term, committed partnership with the Kurdish-led Arab majority administration in northeast Syria."

Yet, he seems once again to be overlooking the fact that for a great deal of history, the US has only fueled Islamic nations against each other across the region and spearheaded terrorism in the so-called Arab Spring riots.

The Chinese brokered-agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia came as a clear recognition from the Western side that the US regional influence has diminished as never before.

He concluded that Iran has only benefited from such a rapprochement "to advance its regional ambitions." But speaking of Iran as if it has its own agenda means comparing Iran to the US, whereas Iran, since its very conception as an Islamic Republic, has only strived to fight for its right to exist.

In short, the piece is evocative of a shift in Western awareness regarding the global balance of power tilting in favor of a multipolar world.