The Shia Crescent

In the past month, official visits to Iran have been made by the leaders of Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah. This is noteworthy, for it is a reflection of a Shia crescent that is forming in the Middle East—just as an extremely confident and defiant Iran gains in regional influence.

Most recently, Syrian President Bashar Assad became the first leader to personally congratulate the newly installed Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when he visited Iran last week. On the August 7-8 visit, Assad also met with top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former president Khatami, the foreign minister, the defense minister and Expediency Council Chairman Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Iranian president said relations with Syria are growing and that he expected bilateral cooperation and coordination to strengthen (Xinhaunet, August 8).

This was no routine visit. It came, rather, as a reflection of Syria’s decision to more closely align itself with the preeminent power in the region.

Damascus has been feeling pressure from Washington over Syria’s support of the Iraqi insurgency, including its refusal to secure its eastern border in order to stop the flow of insurgents and arms into Iraq. So to whom does Syria look? “Assad feels it is time to jump on the bandwagon with Iran to boost his image as a strong, defiant leader capable of standing up to the United States” (Stratfor, August 8).

As for Iran, Syria’s friendship comes in handy as a bargaining chip with the U.S.: Any influence Iran has over Syria can help persuade it to either cooperate with the U.S. in tightening its border with Iraq—or further frustrate U.S. efforts in Iraq by encouraging militants to enter the country.

At a time when the U.S. badly needs stabilization of the situation within Iraq, the last thing it needs is increased cooperation between Iran and Syria.

As a basis for their relations, Iran and Syria are united in their defiance of Western influence, most particularly American influence, in the Middle East. A Lebanese newspaper stated that “Syria and Iran—with memories of how to engage foreign armies going back several millennia—are carefully calibrating their policies in view of America’s combined vulnerabilities, determination, power and perplexity in Iraq” (Daily Star, August 10).

During a meeting with Rafsanjani last week, Assad “declared that the consolidation of ties among Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Hezbollah would create a great obstacle to their ‘Zionist enemy’ and the long-term interests of the U.S. occupiers in the region” (Stratfor, op. cit.).

The Iranian president stated, “The enemies [that is, the U.S. and the West] have always been filled with anger over consolidation of ties among all regional states, particularly between Iran and Syria, the two countries which play an important role in establishment of security and stability in the region” (Xinhaunet, op. cit.).

So here we have a clearly defiant Iran shoring up its position in the region as it challenges the West. The real cause of the tension between Iran and the West, according to Iranian author Amir Taheri, is that “Iran intends to reshape the Middle East after its own fashion” (New York Post, August 8).

In his election campaign, Ahmadinejad stated clearly his vision for the future of the region: “The Middle East can have either an American future or an Islamic one led by Iran” (ibid.).

In the coming months, we will see that, ultimately, America will not have the will to stop Iran achieving its goal. With a Shiite Iraq now in Iran’s sphere of influence, and the Shiite leadership of Syria looking to Iran, Tehran is well on its way. Add in the powerful tool of Hezbollah—Iran and Syria’s made-to-order terrorist group—and we can see an Islamic alliance that will only grow in its ability to challenge the West.

As we see this power bloc coming together, we should also watch for a change in Egyptian politics that will draw that country—one of America’s few “friends” in the region—into Iran’s sphere of influence as well.

Iran will continue to maneuver itself into an increasingly dominant position in the region, gaining in confidence and strength until it provokes a conflict leading to World War III (Daniel 11:40). As the view through the prophetic glass becomes clearer, let us “watch and pray” that we may be accounted worthy to escape the time of trouble that precedes Christ’s return.

For more, be sure to read “The New Islamic Superpower” in the September-October Trumpet.