Tackling the MENA Region’s Intersecting Conflicts

17 January 2019. From 18:30 | Workshop | English | IEMed, Barcelona

Following the recent withdrawal by the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the re-imposition of sanctions, the Iran situation is becoming tense. There has been some discussion in Europe and the US about what will happen next. However, from what is clear now, the conflict between these states is played on a proxy board.

Both US and Iran have many interests in the MENA region and armed groups to secure them. This is made explicit in the case of Syria, where Iranian interests are manifested through its Hezbollah proxy. The presence of the Lebanese poses a threat to the national security of Israel, an ally of the US which Iran has threatened to destroy on many occasions.

Unlike Iran, US allies are mostly sovereign states with a structured army and even though there is no formal communication between them -Israel, Saudi Arabia- they both view Iran as a major threat to the stability of the region.

Joost Hiltermann analyzes whether an alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia against Iran is possible and explains each major conflict in the MENA region from the global geopolitical point of view.