Jackie Northam
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Well, the most important way that it used it is Syria allowed Iran to set up a critical land bridge to Lebanon, so a corridor to Lebanon, so it could funnel weapons to Hezbollah for many years. You know, this was crucial to get fighters, weapons going both ways, actually. But now that the anti-government rebels control Syria,
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
That strategic route to Lebanon is really most likely off-limits to Iran, and that's a huge blow for the regime's long-term goals in the region.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Well, there are two key ones. They want to see the destruction or the collapse of Israel as a Jewish state. Iran also wants to counter any power influence that the U.S. has in the Middle East, you know, at the same time projecting the regime's own power in the region using its military and proxies, you know, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and certainly the Houthis in Yemen.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. You know, this is just really going to make it much, much harder to get, you know, missiles and drones and the like to Hezbollah in Lebanon if this corridor is out of reach now. But, you know, Steve, this isn't the only setback that Iran has faced recently. I spoke with Afshan Ostavar, and he's a specialist on Iran and its proxies at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
And, you know, he said... Losing Syria as an ally really marks a profound turnaround for Iran. You know, if you consider just a year ago, it was one of the most powerful states in the Middle East. Here he is.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
So Steve, you know, not only has Israel degraded Hezbollah, as you mentioned, but Hamas in Gaza, it assassinated senior Iranian officials and pounded Iran's air defenses. And now it's lost a powerful ally in Syria.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
That's highly unlikely. And you know, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned earlier this week not to underestimate the regime. One of the concerns is if Tehran feels cornered, it may try to use its nuclear program as leverage.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
But you know, the other thing that's worth noting in the wake of the shakeup in Syria is that Iran's hardline regime may also be worried about a threat of upheaval from its own population. You Any kind of dissent is crushed. And Tehran's watching what's happening in Syria. I wonder if the same thing could happen in Iran.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Thanks very much, Steve.