Iran Sends Message on Gaza, Syria

Week in Review

Nov 28, 2012

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (L) and Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani (C) speak to the media after meeting in Damascus November 23, 2012, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency (SANA). REUTERS/SANA/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS — Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (L) and Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani (C) speak to the media after meeting in Damascus, Nov. 23, 2012, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency (SANA). — REUTERS

Iran sent a message last week to the West, the West’s Sunni allies and Israel that it will challenge any attempts at Sunni hegemony in both Gaza and Syria.

While all politics are local, in the Middle East there's an overlying sectarian conflict in play.

Iran, the leading Shia power in the region, played a formidable hand, countering the regional ambitions of Qatar and Turkey; revealing the limits of Egypt’s influence; and showing that its proxies and allies can reach within Israel.

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Iran Sends Message on Gaza, Syria

In the Gaza conflict, Iran reveals that it has the wherewithal to shift the equation and provide some payback, even in areas where its adversaries hold sway.

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