Iran’s international allies fail to show up with force in face of US war

Iran cultivated a network of seemingly impressive friends ahead of its war with Israel and the United States, but once the bombs started falling, those friends were nowhere to be found. Iran’s aggressive Shiite revolutionary ideology left it isolated for the first two decades of its existence, making enemies of virtually all its neighbors and regional players. The Islamic Republic slowly opened up, beginning with the presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, but closed off again under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 2005 to 2013. After a period of renewed isolation following the accession of

Iran cultivated a network of seemingly impressive friends ahead of its war with Israel and the United States, but once the bombs started falling, those friends were nowhere to be found. Iran’s aggressive Shiite revolutionary ideology left it isolated for the first two decades of its existence, making enemies of virtually all its neighbors and regional players. The Islamic Republic slowly opened up, beginning with the presidency of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, but closed off again under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 2005 to 2013. After a period of renewed isolation following the accession of