مجلة الفكر القانوني والسياسي
Volume 7, Numéro 2, Pages 1077-1091
2023-11-30

The Syrian Crisis And Its Implications For The Obama Administration’s Regional Strategy Towards Iran

Authors : Blanchet Chahira . Elaggoune Abdelhak .

Abstract

This paper aims to study the ongoing antagonism between the United States and Iran in the context of the Syrian crisis during Obama's administration. Iran's nuclear programme substantially threatened the Middle Eastern order and directly posed a more significant challenge for Washington by endangering its regional allies. Restoring peace and stability to the Middle East's increasingly unstable region was a crucial and long-term US national security goal that demanded an effective policy. The work sheds light on the Obama administration's strategy to counter Iran's regional influence through the Syrian conflict. Obama took advantage of the crisis to weaken Iran's position by inciting unrest that might destabilise Iran's closest Middle Eastern ally. The policy was based on the assumption that destabilising Syria would put more significant pressure on Iran to stop developing nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the work relied on the analytical descriptive approach to investigate the causes of the US involvement in the Syrian crisis to determine if the war was a crucial component of Washington's regional strategy against Iran. To that aim, the study examines Obama's actions and options in Syria to determine how much they impeded Iran's determination to increase its regional influence. Additionally, it explores how American officials used the Syrian crisis as part of a larger plan to reshape the Middle East's future.

Keywords

Syrian Crisis ; Obama Administration ; Iran's Nuclear Program ; US National Security Interests ; - Middle Eastern Order