The war against Israel marked a historic turning point—not just for Tehran, but for the entire regional power structure. The war did not strengthen Tehran but exposed it—militarily, strategically, and ideologically. Three prominent voices from Yemen, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates speak of the collapse of a myth. Declaring defeats as victories is a recurring pattern in the Middle East.
Yemeni analyst Hassin al-Wada’i calls June 13, 2025, Iran’s “Nakba Day”—a catastrophe. Israel’s attacks shook the foundations of Islamist rule. “Militias fighting in its name, its missile program, its nuclear program—all destroyed. The ayatollahs built their existence on managing crises and chaos. That strategy has spectacularly failed.” Al-Wada’i emphasizes the psychological break: myths that dominated Arab consciousness for decades collapsed like a house of cards. Among them, the myth of the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” the “Iran model”—military might at the expense of an impoverished population—and the illusion that the Middle East cannot exist without Iranian dominance. “The Palestinian cause must break free from its mythological grip and return to the realm of realpolitik.”
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