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History of the Middle East (Part 6: Present day), In 2013, a Syrian…
History of the Middle East (Part 6: Present day)
Iran
Trying to stop the spread of Shia rule that could overthrow him,
Saddam Hussein
invaded Iran, starting the
Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988)
which ended in a stalemate.
Iran is sanctioned by the US due to its support to Hamas and Hezbollah, plus its
nuclear program,
which is also opposed by Israel.
In 2015 a deal
(JCPA)
was made to end the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for a lift in sanctions, but Donald Trump withdrew in 2018, and now Biden is trying to negotiate a new one.
Persian Gulf
In 1990,
Kuwait
was invaded by Iraq, and Iraq's refusal to withdraw at the request of the UN lead to the
Gulf War (1990-1991).
In 2017,
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain
and
Egypt
cut diplomatic and trade ties with
Qatar,
alongside creating a blockade, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Iran.
Qatar received supplies from Iran and Turkey, and with the signing of the
Al-Ula declaration by the GCC (2021)
under US supervision, the crisis has apparently ended.
Middle Eastern Cold War
Saudi Arabia
and
Iran
are two of the largest economies in the region, and are bitter rivals, fighting multiple proxy wars.
By the 1970's both countries had oil based economies and dictators backed by the US, but the
Iranian Revolution (1979)
created a rift between the two, with Iran gaining Russian support.
To counter Iranian influence, SA formed the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
in 1981 with other monarchies.
SA supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war, and when Saddam fell in 2003, both started supporting militias in the country.
During the Arab Spring, SA supported sought to maintain the status quo, while Iran backed protesters.
Yemeni Civil War (2014-Present)
Iran backs the Houthi, while SA sent its own military to Yemen to fight them.
Syrian Civil War (2011-Present)
The conflict can be divided into 4 sides:
Assad, ISIS, rebels
and
Kurds.
Assad is supported by
Russia
and
Iran,
while the rebels are supported by the
US, Jordan, Turkey
and the
GCC.
Hezbollah,
a Lebanese militia backed by Iran, fights on the ground to assist Assad.
The rebels also gained support from
Al Qaeda
and
ISIS,
but ISIS eventually formed its own faction and stopped fighting so much against Assad.
The war began due to Assad's repression of the Arab Spring.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kurdist separatists attempt to fight for independence.
In 2015, Turkey started attacking the Kurdish faction instead of ISIS, which the US sees as its main enemy.
This makes it clear, that even countries on the same side have conflicting interests.
Donald Trump dimishes US participation in the war, allowing Assad to retake important cities, thought after another Syrian chemical strike, the US bombs Syrians air fields.
Joe Biden hasn't yet made clear what his plans for the war are, but Assad seems to be the clear winner at the moment.
In 2013, a
Syrian chemical strike
caused condemnation from across the world.
Trump claimed that the deal with Iran was ineffective in preventing the growth of its influence.