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Ariel Ben Solomon: Middle East Political Analysis and Commentary | JNS

Ariel Ben Solomon

Explore Ariel Ben Solomon’s analytical pieces on Middle East politics, Israel, and international relations at JNS.org.

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“If this pro-Taliban rhetoric is a harbinger of things to come, it’s not unreasonable to expect that jihadist networks will be established in the West once again,” said Sam Westrop of the Middle East Forum.
The collapse of the Afghan military could serve as further motivation for Iran to target U.S.-allied Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as countries like Jordan.
“The political discourse in Iran since 2017 has shifted from reform to revolution,” said Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran expert and senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“From Ankara’s side, while strategic imperatives have long been pushing Turkey to mend its ties with Israel, bashing Israel has become instrumental in mobilizing the constituency at the domestic level,” said Selin Nasi.
King Abdullah noted that “Iranian ballistic technology has improved dramatically. We have seen that against American bases in Iraq.”
Partly driving the shift “is the weakness the United States is showing towards Iran in its efforts to reduce its presence in the Middle East and bolster its position in the Far East against the growing Chinese challenge,” said Bar-Ilan Professor Hillel Frisch, a Middle East expert at the BESA Center.
Jonathan Spyer tells JNS, “What is happening in Lebanon is what happens when a country allows itself to be taken over by a franchise of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with all the corruption and eventual collapse and impoverishment which follows.”
“The United States knows that the Iranian government cares first and foremost about staying in power. If that means sacrificing its non-Iranian allies—Lebanese, Iraqi, Syrian and Yemenite Shi’ites—so be it,” said former U.S. Department of Defense official Harold Rhode.