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Iran's regional influence network has been significantly degraded, presenting the United States with a crucial opportunity to foster a more stable Middle East, according to a Foreign Affairs opinion piece published on Wednesday.
The analysis – penned by Dana Stroul from with Washington Institute for Near East Policy, argues that recent Israeli military successes against Iranian-backed proxies and even within Iran have left Tehran more vulnerable than at any time in decades.
The piece contends that key figures within Iran's network have been eliminated, and substantial numbers of their fighters have been taken off the battlefield. Furthermore, arsenals have been depleted, and Iran's military-industrial capabilities have been damaged.
The author highlights the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a key ally for Tehran, disrupting a crucial supply route. Failed missile attacks on Israel in 2024 are also cited as evidence of weakened deterrence and declining morale among Iran's affiliates.
The analysis suggests that this environment creates a window for establishing a new political framework in the region, strengthening governance and replacing leaders susceptible to Iranian influence.
However, the Stroulcautions that preventing Iran from regaining its footing requires more than just military action and cannot be solely left to Israel. Instead, the United States is positioned to lead a political stabilization process involving diplomacy, security assurances, and economic support for emerging leaders and populations seeking to break free from Tehran's sway.
The opinion piece criticizes President Trump's current strategy, which heavily emphasizes sanctions and military strikes, arguing that a more comprehensive approach involving multilateral engagement and foreign assistance is necessary to capitalize on Iran's weakened state.
The United States warned Iran that it would take "decisive action" to defend its personnel and interests in the Middle East, a statement that coincided with reports of the deployment of stealthy B-2 bombers and a second aircraft carrier to the region.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said, "Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people."
As many as six US B-2 stealth bombers have been deployed to a US-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, US officials said on Tuesday.
The deployment of the B-2s, which possess stealth technology and the capability to carry the heaviest US conventional and nuclear bombs, places them in an ideal strategic position to operate in the Middle East, according to experts cited by Reuters.
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday urged a tougher line on Washington's Mideast adversary Tehran and outlined plans for new legislation targeting the Islamic Republic as tensions have soared in recent days.
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday urged a tougher line on Washington's Mideast adversary Tehran and outlined plans for new legislation targeting the Islamic Republic as tensions have soared in recent days.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran would face bombing if it did not agree to a new nuclear deal, prompting a senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to moot the pursuit of a bomb in the event of an attack.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC) in a press conference advocated a series of new acts it said would increase pressure on Tehran in line with Trump's policy of stepping up sanctions in a bid to force the Islamic Republic to the negotiating table.
It named ten proposed pieces of legislation including the Free Iraq from Iran Act, Stop Corrupt Iranian Oligarchs and Entities Act and the No Sanctions Relief for Terrorists Act.
"This package is the strongest Iran sanctions and security package delivered to date.
The Iranian people are not the target," Congressman August Pfluger of Texas told reporters.
"It's the leadership that wants to gain a nuclear weapon and wants to continue that pariah state of sowing chaos and terrorism throughout the world," he added. "If I were them, I would make the choice of announcing loud and clear that they will not attain a nuclear weapon."
The US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said last week that Washington assessed Iran is not building nuclear weapons but that a taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public was eroding.
The RSC is a conservative caucus for house Republicans founded in 1973.
"Right now, Tehran has a very clear offering, and that's to enter into negotiations in good faith with President Trump, who has laid out not only a roadmap for the Persian Farsi people to be successful, but for Iran to have a future," Representative Zach Nunn of Iowa said.
"It simply means stop funding terrorism, stop avoiding the sanctions regime, come to the table, de-escalate and end a nuclear regime that only ends in death for potentially hundreds of thousands of people in the Middle East."
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that if a deal was not reached, "there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before." Khamenei vowed retaliation to any attack.
An attack, a veteran nuclear negotiator and advisor to the Supreme Leader said on Monday, would push Iran toward acquiring nuclear weapons to ensure its defense,
Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and Khamenei has issued a religious injunction against them, but the United Nations nuclear watchdog says Iran has enriched more uranium than any state lacking a bomb.
"Not only are they pursuing a nuclear weapon to vaporize Israel and ultimately the United States, they're developing ICBMs, which can only be for one purpose, and that is to deliver a nuclear attack against the American people," Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina said.
"And there must be verification, not the charades we've had with the previous administrations."
Trump withdrew from a 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran in his first term after bashing it as too lenient. Khamenei said talks were pointless if a new deal could easily be broken.
The US military has deployed long range bombers at a strategic Indian Ocean airbase, a spokesperson told Iran International last week, a move which presaged major bombing campaigns against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.
More than 700 people have been killed in road accidents across Iran since the start of the new year on March 20, according to the country’s traffic police.
“From March 14 to March 31, we recorded 704 deaths from 582 fatal crashes,” said Brigadier General Teymour Hosseini, head of Iran’s Traffic Police.
“In the same period, more than 16,000 people were injured, and we registered over 84,000 accidents overall.”
Traffic officials say 400 million vehicle movements were logged during the holiday period. Provinces with the highest death tolls included Kerman with 65 fatalities, followed by Fars, Khorasan Razavi, Khuzestan, and Sistan and Baluchestan.
Police attribute nearly half of fatal crashes to drivers failing to keep their eyes on the road. Sudden lane changes and loss of vehicle control each accounted for another 15 percent of deadly incidents.
Every year, the Nowruz holidays (Mid-March to early April) witness hundreds of deaths on Iran's roads as the country's population embarks on journeys for the festive season.
A combination of factors, including poor road conditions, inadequate vehicle domestically made vehicle quality and maintenance, as well as dangerous driving practices, contribute to making the period the most fatal of the year for Iranian citizens.
While poor road conditions and poor vehicle quality are significant factors contributing to road accidents, Iranian authorities often attribute the majority of incidents to human factors, placing blame on drivers.
However, concerns persist regarding the need for comprehensive measures to address the underlying causes of road accidents and enhance road safety across the country.
