Iran was not predestined to become a regional hegemon
Its rivals helped it
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/2019/02/articles/main/20190209_map003_0.jpg)
FLUSH WITH victory at home in 1980, Iran’s new rulers turned their attention abroad. “I hope that [Iran] will become a model for all the meek and Muslim nations in the world,” Ayatollah Khomeini said. His wish did not come true. No other state has adopted the concept of velayat-e faqih, or Shia clerical rule. Ali al-Sistani, the Iranian-born spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shias, wants clerics to stay out of politics. When Bahrain’s long-suffering Shia majority revolted in 2011 they demanded a democratic parliament, not a theocracy. Iran is broadly unpopular in the Arab world. A recent poll found that 66% of Arabs see it as a threat, below only Israel and America.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Pushing on an open door”
More from Middle East & Africa
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240914_MAP502.jpg)
A narrow corridor in Gaza has become an obstacle to a ceasefire
Binyamin Netanyahu says the presence of Israeli troops is crucial. His generals disagree
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240914_MAP501.jpg)
If Nigeria cannot end fuel shortages, disaster beckons
A new refinery creates a chance to scrap ruinous petrol subsidies
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_MAP505.jpg)
The fall of Libya’s central banker triggers a new struggle
It could help the warlord who controls the country’s east
How Africans can stay cool as the climate warms
Air-conditioning is only part of the answer
The relationship between Israel and Turkey is at breaking point
But the Turkish president is desperate to avoid a regional war
China’s relationship with Africa is growing murkier
A decline in capital flows does not necessarily signal disengagement