Iranian Influence in the Levant, Iraq, and Afghanistan

Iranian Influence in the Levant, Iraq and Afghanistan

The American Enterprise Institute

by Kimberly Kagan, Frederick W. Kagan and Danielle Pletka

In a new AEI report, ISW President Kimberly Kagan, Frederick W. Kagan, and Danielle Pletka present empirical evidence of Iranian military, diplomatic, cultural, and economic activities in its immediate environs. 

 While Iran is widely recognized as one of the greatest threats to U.S. security and interests in the Middle East and beyond, its well-documented nuclear ambitions constitute only one aspect of Iran’s pursuit of regional hegemony. Equally important--though often overlooked--is its status as the world’s premier state sponsor of terrorism. Despite this threat, U.S. policy toward Iran and public appreciation of the Islamic Republic’s reach is too often limited to specific incidents, be they terror attacks, violations of nuclear commitments, or interference in Iraq. This “soda-straw” approach has caused many to fail to recognize what appears to be a deliberate strategy by the regime in Tehran to influence--and in some cases dominate--wide areas around the Middle East and in neighboring Afghanistan.