Iraqi militias and politicians alike have been walking on eggshells with Washington, suggesting that the “axis of resistance” is vulnerable to tough diplomatic and intelligence action.
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. But events over the past year have upended the regional order. Today, Iran has largely lost control of two of those four Arab capitals, and it is terrified that another domino might fall…
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