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Home Publications Chapters Iran's Regional Status: Expanding Influence alongside Weakness

Iran's Regional Status: Expanding Influence alongside Weakness

in Strategic Survey for Israel 2011, eds. Anat Kurz and Shlomo Brom, Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, 2011

Ephraim Kam

Important changes in Iran’s regional status in recent years have in many ways expandedIran’s influence in the Middle East and accelerated its drive to confirm its status as a regional power with a leading role in the Muslim world. This ambition rests on Iran’ss being a key country in the region, positioned at an important geo-strategic junction and boasting an ancient culture and imperial past. Iran’s territory and its population are among the largest in the Middle East. It has great economic potential and the capability of building impressive military power, including nonconventional capabilities. The aspiration to regional hegemony is also driven by the regime’s threat perception, shaped by the trauma of the Iran-Iraq War, the American threat to its strategic power, and concern over the security of Iran’s oil production and exports.


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  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Antisemitism and Delegitimization
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • Operation Roaring Lion
      • Iran
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
      • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
      • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
      • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
      • Data Analytics Center
      • Law and National Security
      • Advanced Technologies and National Security
      • Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference
      • Economics and National Security
    • Projects
      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
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