U.S. Must Shift Middle East Policy to Focus on Sovereign States

A surprise Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Jordan and subsequent tanker seizures in the Hormuz Strait have underscored the inadequacy of a U.S. approach rooted in post-9/11 counter-terrorism. Although Iran continues to support groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, it is now more inclined to use direct force and diplomatic bargaining, even linking cease-fire talks to events in Lebanon. Across the region, governments such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are expanding indigenous defence capabilities, while Israel’s prime minister calls for a “super-Sparta” self-sufficiency.

These trends signal a shift from proxy warfare to overt state competition, a reality the author says Washington must acknowledge in its strategy. Limited steps like sanction relief and new military partnerships are insufficient without a fundamental rethinking of the policy framework. The piece concludes that the United States must treat sovereign states as the central actors shaping Middle Eastern security.