The biggest rivalry in the Arab–Iranian conflict is between Saudi Arabia and Iran, who have been waging a heavy proxy war against each other since the late 1970s.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and United Arab Emirates united against Iran, with support from the United States. Other Arab countries continued to have normal relations with Iran. Another aspect of tension between Iran and Arab countries has been sectarianism.
Iran has since strong-armed groups that regularly fight Israel. Iran has supplied more than 130,000 rockets to Hezbollah threatening Israel, more rockets and funding of more than a $100 million annually to Hamas in Gaza and more than $16 billion to support Syria and its allies between 2012 and 2020.
There is deep-seated anger in Iran over the government's Islamic policies, especially those around dress code. Even when the hijab (headscarf) was made compulsory in 1983 there were protests -- dissent which has continued ever since.
Iran and Turkey have long been at odds over conflicts such as those in Syria, Libya, and the South Caucasus. However, they also have shared common interests in some instances, such as the issue of Kurdish separatism and the Qatar diplomatic crisis.
They have developed a friendly, economic and strategic relationship. In March 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year cooperation agreement that will strengthen the relations between the two countries and that would include “political, strategic and economic” components.
Iran and Russia are strategic allies and form an axis in the Caucasus alongside Armenia. Iran and Russia are also military allies in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq and partners in Afghanistan and post-Soviet Central Asia. The Russian Federation is also the chief supplier of arms and weaponry to Iran.
The United States attributes the worsening of relations to the 1979–81 Iran hostage crisis, Iran's repeated human rights abuses since the Islamic Revolution, its anti-Western ideology and its nuclear program. Since 1995, the United States has had an embargo on trade with Iran.
The current long-time Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, ruling Iran for more than three decades, has issued decrees and made final decisions on economy, education, environment, foreign policy, national planning, and almost everything else in the country.
Tensions between Iraq and Iran were fuelled by Iran's Islamic revolution and its appearance of being a Pan-Islamic force, in contrast to Iraq's Arab nationalism.
“Israel will use any option, including attacking Iran, to prevent them from having a nuclear weapon. But it's also important that the U.S. and other countries put their credible military threats on the table.
“In a very general sense, it's no secret or cutting-edge analysis that Israel's military is the best-equipped and best-trained in the whole region,” says Roberts. “But some sections of [Iran's military] are battle-tested.”
Other factors that have contributed to the escalation of bilateral tensions include Iran's development of nuclear technology relative to Israel's long-stated Begin Doctrine, Iran's funding of Islamist groups such as Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, as well as alleged involvement in terrorist attacks such ...
Who supported Iran during the Iran-Iraq War? During the Iran-Iraq War, Iran's only major allies were Syria and Libya.
Japan has maintained a relatively good relationship with Iran compared to Western countries, even after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
It is a founding member of the United Nations, the ECO, the OIC, and the OPEC. It has large reserves of fossil fuels—including the second largest natural gas supply and the third-largest proven oil reserves. The country's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Iranian Armed Forces are the largest in the Middle East in terms of active troops. Iran's military forces are made up of approximately 610,000 active-duty personnel plus 350,000 reserve and trained personnel that can be mobilized when needed, bringing the country's military manpower to about 960,000 total personnel.
Adultery and sex outside out of marriage are illegal under Iranian law and carry the death penalty. Relationships between non-Muslim men and Muslim women are illegal, although few Westerners have been prosecuted. If a Muslim woman is found in a relationship with a non-Muslim man, she may be sentenced to be whipped.
Khamenei has been head of the servants of Astan Quds Razavi since 14 April 1979. As Supreme Leader, Khamenei is the most powerful political authority in the Islamic Republic.
The biggest rivalry in the Arab–Iranian conflict is between Saudi Arabia and Iran, who have been waging a heavy proxy war against each other since the late 1970s.
Iran is not known to currently possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has signed treaties repudiating the possession of WMDs including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran's nuclear program was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States under the Atoms for Peace program, and in 1970, Iran ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), limiting its nuclear program to peaceful use, and making its nuclear program subject to inspection by the International Atomic Energy ...
As of 2023, Ukraine reduced the diplomatic relations and imposed long term sanctions on Iran which include a complete ban on trading.
Iran maintains regular diplomatic and commercial relations with Russia and the former Soviet Republics. Both Iran and Russia believe they have important national interests at stake in developments in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, particularly concerning energy resources from the Caspian Sea.
Russia supports two-state solution for Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has relations with several Palestinian political parties. Russia does not consider Hamas as a terrorist organization and continues to diplomatically negotiate with them.