Strategic Assessment

The upheaval in the Arab world has shaped a new Middle East geopolitical landscape, with changes in the composition and cohesion of the “radical axis.” It has also sparked the formation of an Arab-Turkish/monarchial-republican Sunni axis, which is challenging Iran’s power and influence in the region. The members of this axis share a desire for Assad’s fall and a growing opposition to Iran. In addition to these common points, there are also several points of friction between the members of the Sunni axis, fed in part by historical tension and divergent perspectives on the emerging regional environment. While the strengthening of the Sunni axis at the expense of the Shiite axis is a positive development for Israel, the Sunni countries also largely represent and support an Islamic ideology, sometimes in an extreme version that vehemently opposes Israel.