ARTICLE

The Middle East Chess Board: Iran vs Israel

News Image By Michael Oren/JNS.org March 13, 2018
Share this article:

While Israel is mired in domestic scandals and coalition crises, the greatest threat the country has known since the eve of the Yom Kippur War--perhaps since the War for Independence--is steadily taking shape. 

This menace, posed of course by Iran, essentially consists of a wide range of growing threats closing in on us. The Iranians, who invented the game of chess, are exceedingly adept at playing several boards simultaneously, with the winner's prize no less than control of the entire Middle East and beyond.


The bottom chessboard is regional. The Iranians cunningly took a step back and allowed the superpowers to destroy their main enemies in the region. The Americans weakened the Taliban and eliminated Saddam Hussein, and, along with Russia, they annihilated the Islamic State group. 

The Iranians also helped Shiite militias exhaust and chase American forces from Iraq. The resulting vacuum in Iraq and Syria was filled by the Iranians and their proxies.

Today, Iran is penetrating deeper across the Middle East and is guiding the Shiite majorities in eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It has also established a foothold among the Houthis rebels in Yemen. Just several days ago, Bahraini forces thwarted a coup attempt orchestrated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

At the same time, the Iranians have forged unprecedentedly strong alliances with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Together with their complete control over Lebanon, the Iranians have laid siege to virtually the entire Middle East.

The upper chessboard is the international sphere, where the Iranians have secured a nuclear deal. This achievement grants them all the advantages of military nuclear capabilities without the costs. While Iran doesn't have to fear a military strike on its nuclear facilities, sanctions relief and lucrative business deals have provided the immense funds it uses to realize its regional aspirations. 

In around 10 years, when the nuclear deal expires, no country will step in to stop Iran if it continues developing nuclear weapons, for fear of squandering its vast investments in the Islamic republic.



* Sponsored Link
It’s important to adapt different innovations in modern education to help children develop their creativity and improved abilities to solve problems. Education policies should have a range of standard and infrastructure. It’s the best place to buy a dissertation on this subject.* 

In the meantime, the Iranians have displayed an incredible capacity to maneuver between Western powers. Thus, for example, during Tehran's rapprochement with Washington under the Obama administration, it also struck a tangible military alliance with Russia, which helped it restore its status as a player in the Middle East. This dexterity is particularly discernible on the main chessboard: Syria.

Influence in Syria, which links Tehran to Beirut; and Damascus to Iraq and the Persian Gulf, is a preeminent Iranian interest. In Syria of all places, however, Iran's status is questionable due to the lack of a Shiite population there. Therefore, it is working to cleanse Syria of its Sunni majority and bolster the Alawites, who are essentially an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and their regime.

To replace the banished or killed Sunnis, Iran is importing Shiites from across the Middle East from as far as Pakistan and Afghanistan. To this end, the Iranians enlisted Moscow's help and in return agreed to Russia's continued presence in the war-torn country. 

Through their extensive economic ties with Iran, meanwhile, the Europeans are funding the ethnic cleansing of Syria and inducing the tsunami of refugees reaching their shores. All Iran has to do now is establish a military foothold in Syria to overcome the last obstacle on its path to regional hegemony: Israel.


Iran wants to force Israel into a state of perpetual check; in other words, paralysis before death. Surrounded by tens of thousands of missiles held by Hamas and Hezbollah, and in range of the Iranian army's long-range missiles, Israel will struggle to impede Iran from entrenching itself in Syria. When this undertaking culminates, the Iranians will be able to take the Israeli "king" and declare checkmate.

This can be prevented. The Israeli government has thus far set clear red lines prohibiting the Iranians from building missile bases and ports in Syria, and from transferring sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah. These red lines must be stringently enforced, but international support must also be enlisted. 

Israel has to develop a diplomatic and legal "iron dome" capable of defending us if Israel Defense Forces's soldiers are forced to enter Hezbollah's strongholds in southern Lebanon. 

The Iranians might be experts at chess, but rest assured, Israel has champions of its own.

Originally published at JNS.org - reposted with permission.




Other News

September 30, 2025Is Trump's 'Board Of Peace' A Foreshadowing Of Daniel's End-Times Covenant?

President Donald Trump's dramatic announcement of a Gaza peace plan-complete with a "Board of Peace" he himself would chair, joined by fig...

September 30, 2025The Strange Convergence: Military Secrecy And Prophetic Watching

Something unusual is happening in Washington, and while we must resist the urge to leap into wild conspiracy theories, it would be foolish...

September 30, 2025U.S. Farmers Are Facing The Worst Economic Downturn In At Least 50 Years

The agriculture industry in the United States is deeply broken and most Americans have absolutely no idea how bad it has gotten. The presi...

September 30, 2025A Storybook Ending Gone Wrong: Robert Munsch And The Loss Of Hope

Robert Munsch is a name that evokes childhood warmth, laughter, bedtime reading, and the comforting rhythm of love repeated across generat...

September 29, 2025A Surge In The Sanctuary: Is "The Charlie Kirk Effect" Real?

Something is stirring in America. Against the backdrop of cynicism, violence, and cultural collapse, a new movement is taking root--one th...

September 29, 2025False Peace Coming: The Hidden Dangers In Trump’s 21 Point Gaza Roadmap

Israel stands at the edge of history. Once again, the world demands that she compromise her security for the sake of illusions, offering p...

September 29, 20252025 State Of Theology Survey - Christians Lacking In Firm Grasp Of Essentials

A new study commissioned by Ligonier Ministries in conjunction with Lifeway Research suggests troubling inconsistencies in the beliefs of ...

Get Breaking News