By Batool Subeiti

Why Iran matters to regional and international stability

January 18, 2026 - 20:39

LONDON -There is no doubt that Iran is the only state that stands against absolute Western and Israeli hegemony in the West Asia region, a hegemony based on handing over the region’s affairs entirely to the Israeli occupation entity. 

If the West were ever to succeed in bringing Iran down, who would remain to challenge Western dominance and prevent the region’s affairs from being entirely outsourced to the Israeli occupation entity? The region will be managed as one massive investment project under Israeli control in that kind of scenario. 

This kind of monopoly is opposed by only one state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is why it has faced decades of the strongest conspiracies. Furthermore, Iran is a necessity for Arab national security, as it creates a balance between Arab states and the Israeli occupation entity. At the same time, it creates a balance between the East and West, between Russia and China on one side and the West on the other. Whoever controls Iran breaches this balance and gains the upper hand. 

Iran is necessary for Arab regimes for two reasons. Firstly, it acts as a line of defense for Arab regimes against the ambitions and expansion of the Israeli occupation entity, as the focus of confrontation is directed toward Iran rather than Arab regimes. Secondly, if the Islamic system in Iran were replaced by a Western-aligned system, it would play a role in the region and share in managing it with the Israeli occupation entity, while the Arab states would be excluded from this arrangement.

At the international level, the existence of an independent Iran, aligned with neither East nor West, places it in a position of balance. Whoever controls it gains the advantage. Therefore, the West is concerned that Iran does not become part of a hostile Eastern bloc, while Russia and China are concerned that Iran does not turn into a Western ally. The party that controls Iran would be positioned on the borders of the other party’s interests. For this reason, we see that Arab states hostile to Iran have softened their rhetoric, as they feel that Iran is a guardian of balance in the region. 

This is the geopolitical condition of the region, without this balance the region would become completely exposed, with no living spark of hope to hinder this outcome. The existing spark is the Iranian role today, which gives the countries of the region room to maneuver.

Psychological warfare is the latest method being waged against the Iranian nation by the West, through contradictory statements about whether a strike will or will not occur. Furthermore, by signaling support to the Iranian opposition internally and encouraging parties moving against the government through demonstrations and protests.

Matters have evolved since the June war of 2025, where there were Israeli and American strikes, after which they hoped for protests to take place against the ruling system. That however failed. Instead, the attacks unified the nation around the leadership. The Western strategy has not changed its plot to provoke internal protests, that would be backed by strikes, or rather protected by the threat of strikes.
 
In reality Trump is experiencing euphoria from what happened in Venezuela and from the successes he believes he has achieved in his policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, Iran is not Venezuela. Iran has a strong culture and is a civilization with deeply rooted institutions. It is a nation that rallies around its leadership. Who protects the revolution and the state in Iran other than the nation and the public? For 47 years, repeated attempts to besiege, wage war, and overthrow have failed—because the state remains safeguarded by its people.

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