Over the past several decades, the strategic balance of power in the Middle East has undergone a methodical and devastating transformation. States that once posed credible ideological or military opposition to Israeli regional dominance have been dismantled, neutralized, or forced into compliance.
From the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, to the destruction of Gaddafi’s Libya, the normalization of Egypt and Sudan, and most recently the disintegration of Assad’s Syria, the map of resistance has been all but erased. Iran remains the last standing node in what was once a broader anti-Zionist axis. But for how much longer?
Iraq: A Neutralized State Stripped of Sovereignty
Iraq once offered both rhetorical and strategic defiance to Israel, especially under Saddam Hussein. During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq fired Scud missiles at Tel Aviv in a show of symbolic solidarity
with Palestine. But Saddam’s fall in 2003 not only decapitated Iraq’s leadership, it dissolved the entire state apparatus. What followed was twenty years of occupation, insurgency, sectarian civil war, and a divided political elite either loyal to Washington or Tehran. Today, Iraq is geopolitically paralyzed.
It has no unified military policy, and while Iran-backed militias like Kataib Hezbollah operate on its soil, these groups function more as regional irritants than strategic threats to Israel. Israel occasionally targets suspected arms depots in Iraq, but the Iraqi state is not part of any formal anti-Israel posture. Iraq was the first major domino to fall.
Libya: From Revolutionary Patron to Warlord Playground
Muammar Gaddafi used Libya’s oil wealth to fund a vast network of revolutionary and anti-imperialist movements, including Palestinian armed groups and African liberation fronts. His regime condemned Israeli expansion and refused to normalize relations. That ended in 2011 with a NATO-backed uprising. Gaddafi was killed. The state imploded.
Libya today is a fractured territory ruled by militias and rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi. There is no unified foreign policy. Israeli interests face no meaningful opposition from post-Gaddafi Libya, which is now focused entirely on energy exports and internal control.
Egypt and Sudan: Bought Out and Brought In
Egypt, once the vanguard of Arab nationalism, signed peace with Israel in 1979. Today, it is a key regional partner in managing Gaza and ensuring the stability of the Sinai Peninsula. Under Abdel Fattah al Sisi, Egypt receives over one billion dollars annually in US military aid and cooperates with Israel on security and intelligence.Far from resisting Zionist expansion, Egypt now facilitates it by maintaining the siege on Gaza and repressing Palestinian support groups domestically.
Sudan under Omar al Bashir aligned itself with Hamas and Hezbollah, and refused to normalize with Israel. But following his ouster in 2019, a military-led transitional government reversed course. By 2021, Sudan signed the Abraham Accords,marking its formal entry into the US-backed normalization process. Israeli officials have since visited Khartoum, and security cooperation is underway.
Syria: A Collapsed State Still Under Fire
Syria once served as the ideological and logistical backbone of anti-Zionist resistance. It hosted Palestinian militant groups, supported Hezbollah, and refused to negotiate over the occupied Golan Heights. Assad’s regime withstood more than a decade of civil war, but by late 2024, it collapsed.
In December 2024, Damascus fell to an alliance of Islamist and nationalist rebel factions. Assad fled to
Moscow. A transitional government under Ahmad al Sharaa was formed, but it is weak, decentralized, and lacks control over much of the country. In this power vacuum, Israel has become increasingly aggressive.
Israeli forces now routinely carry out airstrikes, special forces raids, and even ground incursions into Syrian territory. Since Assad’s fall, Israel has intensified Operation Arrow of Bashan, a campaign designed to eliminate Iranian-linked infrastructure, Hezbollah outposts, and advanced weapons systems. Over 350 airstrikes have hit targets in Aleppo, Palmyra, Damascus countryside, and Quneitra
In early June 2025, Israeli commandos raided Beit Jin, detaining suspected Hamas members and killing a mentally ill civilian. Meanwhile, Israel now occupies parts of the Golan buffer zone, including Mount Hermon, and has issued a demand that no Syrian forces operate south of Damascus, threatening further strikes if ignored. Syria, even in fragmentation, is under relentless pressure.
The new Syrian leadership is largely powerless, caught between Turkish-backed rebels in the north, Israeli airpower in the south, and sporadic ISIS cells in the east. Syria has not been rebuilt—it has been permanently dismembered.
Gaza and Yemen: Non-State Resistance Under Siege
With state actors removed from the map, resistance has largely shifted to non-state forces. Hamas in Gaza and Ansar Allah (the Houthis) in Yemen remain ideologically opposed to Israel and receive material support from Iran.
But both are under siege. Gaza has faced repeated wars, from Operation Iron Swords in 2023 to the current bombing campaigns in 2025. Israeli bombardment, coupled with Egyptian border control, has rendered Gaza a humanitarian prison
The Houthis in Yemen have used drones and missiles to attack Israeli shipping lanes in the Red Sea. In response, Israel, the US, and the UK have launched major strikes on Houthi missile sites and radar systems. The Houthis have demonstrated resilience but remain geographically and diplomatically isolated.
These groups are resilient but geopolitically constrained. They do not have air forces, national infrastructure, or international legitimacy. Their value to the resistance axis is symbolic, not strategic.
Iran: Last Man Standing
That leaves Iran. Since 1979, Iran has built its foreign policy on opposition to Zionism and American imperialism. Its Revolutionary Guards have cultivated a network of allies across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. But that network is under siege. Iran’s land corridor to the Mediterranean has been severed by the collapse of Syria. Hezbollah faces increasing financial strain and constant Israeli surveillance. Iranian scientists are routinely assassinated, and its nuclear facilities are targeted by cyberattacks. In April 2024, Israel launched one of its most sophisticated drone operations against Natanz.
Domestically, Iran faces inflation, protests, and increasing discontent. But despite internal problems, Iran remains the only state actor with a consistent, official anti-Zionist policy and the capacity to strike Israeli interests via proxies.
Iran’s endurance is not guaranteed. It is surrounded by US bases in the Gulf, under relentless economic sanctions, and constantly facing subversion from within and without. But unlike Libya or Iraq, Iran is not defenseless. It has missile systems, drone production, and a robust military-industrial base.
Conclusion: A Strategic Cleansing
The Middle East has undergone a form of strategic cleansing. Anti-Zionist regimes have been toppled, their militaries dismantled, and their populations fragmented. Israel has achieved near-total air superiority across the Levant. The Abraham Accords have normalized its presence. Opponents like Syria and Iraq have been reduced to shells.
Iran is the last domino, and the pressure is mounting. Whether through internal uprising, economic collapse, cyberwarfare, or direct confrontation, efforts to break Iran’s resistance posture are intensifying. If Iran falls, resistance to Zionism as a state-level ideology may vanish entirely. What remains will be enclaves, militias, and memories of past Arab and Middle-Eastern glory.