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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/And-the-winner-in-Syria-is-Iran-503358
Who Will Block Iranian Advancement in the Middle East?
(Jeusalem Post) Jonathan Spyer - Washington does not appear to be developing a real strategy for containing the Iranians in eastern Syria. This leaves the local players. The resilience and return of relatively stable Sunni Arab autocracies in Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Amman, and the eclipse of the Sunni Arab rebellion in Syria, have removed Sunni Islamists, for now at least, from the real power game in the Middle East. The result that faces the cohesive and coherent Iran-led bloc is a much more nebulous gathering, but one which, if combined, possesses more power, more population, and more wealth than the Iranians. Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the Kurdish Regional Government, Egypt, Jordan, and the remaining non-jihadi Syrian rebels are the core elements standing in the way of Iranian advancement in the Middle East. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Rubin Center for Research in International Affairs, IDC Herzliya.