For nearly half a century, the Middle East has been defined by a single overarching reality: the Iranian threat. Since 1979, the ayatollahs’ growing influence, nuclear program, and destabilizing activities have shaped regional dynamics more than perhaps any other factor. An entire generation has grown up accepting periodic clashes and proxy conflicts as the natural order, with Iran’s tentacles reaching Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza, always threatening Israel and pragmatic Arab nations alike.

The Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, along with Iran’s strengthening nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, starkly demonstrated how acute this danger had become. Some members of the Iran-led axis believed their dream of annihilating Israel and dominating the Middle East was about to come true. None of them was prepared for the extent to which their own dominoes would get knocked to the ground one after the other: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, and most recently,

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