Iran is “facing ruin on the global stage” with the prospect of tough sanctions and a ruined reputation following a series of strategic losses, experts warned last night.
Over the past few weeks Tehran has experienced crippling airstrikes by Israel, been forced to watch as its beaten arch-proxy Hezbollah signed a peace with Israel and has lost vital access to Lebanon with the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria.
“Iran relied on its reputation and its finances to keep its proxies alive – and is experiencing substantial anxiety about its ability to project power throughout the region, its influence and its ability to exert pressure on Israel,“ said Megan Sutcliffe of Sibylline strategic risk group
“The regime has shown it neither defends its proxies nor guarantees they are fully resourced , because it no longer has ?control over its routes through Syria.”
Last week Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed that “Zionism was a failed idea devoid of roots, an artificial and fleeting idea that barely lasts.”
Sutcliffe added: “No matter how much the Supreme Leader tries to spin this, Israel played a major role in reducing Iran to this state . And we’re seeing that reflected by the confidence that they are feeling at the moment.
“Iran no longer has its so-called Ring of Fire around Israel.
“And the return to a maximum pressure policy under Trump next year will have a big economic impact. When all these factors are combined, it’s difficult not to assess that Iran is facing economic ruin on the global stage.”
