A changed Middle East balance of power

ON OCT 6, 2023, it seemed as though the United States and its allies were about to win the day in the Middle East and that the anti-American Iran regime was facing a major geo-strategic blow.

The expectation was that Saudi Arabia and Israel, America’s two partners in the region and long-time foes of the Islamic Republic, were about to normalise diplomatic relations.

The conventional wisdom in Washington and Middle Eastern capitals at that time was that the ensuing Saudi-Israeli detente would create the conditions for the formation of a new regional bloc that would include the pro-Western moderate Arab states and Israel.