The Islamic Republic’s nefarious regional ambitions and decades of exporting instability were put front and center at the United Nations.
Timor-Leste President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate José Ramos-Horta delivered a devastating assessment of the Islamic Republic’s regional policy: “We are aware of the mad approach of Iran’s leaders to achieve regional dominance.”
He accused the Islamic Republic of fueling religious extremism to destabilize neighboring states and condemned its attacks against neighboring countries and civilian infrastructure.
The significance goes beyond one speech.
For decades, the Islamic Republic built its regional strategy around extending its influence beyond Iran through the IRGC, armed groups and political networks across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the Palestinian territories.
Then this year came direct Iranian missile and drone attacks across the region, including against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
Countries far beyond the immediate conflict are increasingly confronting the consequences of a regional strategy built around armed proxies, missiles, drones and the pursuit of influence across other states.
The Islamic Republic calls it “resistance.” Its neighbors have spent decades living with the instability it produces.