Iran Could Lose Iraq

Ever since its revolution in 1979, Iran has cultivated a network of proxies and friends throughout the Middle East. For years, this strategy proved successful. Slowly but surely, Tehran’s “axis of resistance” gained influence in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, where it railed against Israel and the United States. In September 2014, Iran-backed Houthi militants captured Yemen’s biggest city. Shortly thereafter, an Iranian parliamentarian boasted that his government controlled four Arab capitals: Baghdad, Beirut, Damascus, and Sanaa.