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This analysis explores the war on Iran within a broader geopolitical struggle, linking Palestine, resistance movements, and power dynamics shaping the Muslim world.
By DR FIROZ OSMAN
A war across the Muslim world
War today is not confined to a single battlefield. It is being waged across multiple fronts of the Muslim world: Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, and now Iran. These are not isolated conflicts, but interconnected theatres within a broader geopolitical struggle over power, resources, and ideological dominance.
To understand the present escalation against Iran, one must situate it within a longer historical arc – one defined by intervention, resistance, and the contest over sovereignty in the Muslim world.
1979: The turning point
The modern phase of confrontation with Iran begins with the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The revolution overthrew the Shah, a monarch whose rule had been secured through foreign intervention. In 1953, a CIA-backed operation removed Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalised Iran’s oil industry, previously dominated by British interests. The Shah, restored to power, ruled through repression, enforced by the SAVAK – his feared security apparatus known for widespread torture and brutality.
Resistance to this regime grew steadily until it culminated in revolution. On February 11, 1979, the Islamic Republic was declared, fundamentally altering the regional balance of power.
Iran and Palestine: Ideology and alignment
The revolution immediately signalled a shift in foreign policy priorities.
Within days, Iran handed over the former Israeli embassy in Tehran to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Yasser Arafat became the first foreign leader to visit post-revolution Iran, symbolising a new strategic alignment.
Later that year, Ruhollah Khomeini declared Al-Quds Day – an annual global mobilisation on the last Friday of Ramadan dedicated to the liberation of Jerusalem.
Iran’s support for Palestine was not framed as optional diplomacy, but as a religious and ideological obligation rooted in the defence of the oppressed.
Why the revolution threatened the West
The Islamic Revolution represented more than regime change – it disrupted the architecture of Western influence in the region.
The Shah had been a critical ally, ensuring:
• Western access to oil resources
• Regional stability favourable to Western interests
• Strategic alignment with Israel
With his removal, the United States, Britain, and Israel lost a central pillar of their regional order.
Two strategic imperatives – control over energy resources and the protection of Israel – have long shaped Western policy in the Middle East. The emergence of a defiant, independent Iran challenged both.
Containment: Sanctions and isolation
In response, Iran was subjected to sustained economic and political pressure.
For decades, sanctions have been used as a tool to weaken the Islamic Republic, limit its influence, and undermine internal support for its revolutionary model.
This pattern extends beyond Iran: any state that challenges dominant global structures risks economic strangulation or military confrontation.
Palestine: Siege and resistance
While Iran faced sanctions, Palestine endured siege.
For nearly two decades, Gaza has been blockaded – its population confined, monitored, and economically suffocated. Despite these conditions, Palestinian resistance movements developed extensive underground networks, enabling them to organise, train, and sustain their struggle.
Support from Iran, alongside coordination with groups such as Hezbollah, contributed to the evolution of this المقاومة (resistance) infrastructure.
Arab normalization and strategic betrayal
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Parallel to Palestinian suffering, several Arab states moved toward normalization with Israel.
Countries including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan established or strengthened ties with Israel – prioritising regime stability, economic cooperation, and security guarantees.
This shift reflected a broader calculation: survival of ruling elites over solidarity with Palestine.
Reliance on Western military protection, particularly through US bases in the Gulf, reinforced this alignment.
October 7: Strategic shock
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel – an operation it called Tufan al-Aqsa.
The attack disrupted long-standing assumptions about Israeli military invulnerability and triggered a regional escalation. It also reactivated a network of allied groups, including:
• Hezbollah in Lebanon
• Ansarullah (Houthis) in Yemen
• Armed factions in Iraq
This constellation, often described as an ‘axis of resistance’, demonstrated coordinated, multi-front pressure against Israel and its allies.
Why Iran supports Palestine
Although Palestine is not explicitly named in Iran’s constitution, Iranian leadership grounds its support in broader principles:
• Defence of the oppressed
• Opposition to injustice
• Commitment to Muslim unity
Article 152 of Iran’s constitution frames foreign policy around these ideals, providing the basis for its consistent pro-Palestinian stance.
Leadership, sacrifice, and narrative power
The resistance narrative is reinforced through figures regarded as martyrs, including Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, Yasser Arafat, Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, Ayatollah Khamenei and Ali Larijani.
These figures are presented not merely as leaders, but as symbols of resistance.
Narratives of sacrifice – such as accounts of Sinwar fighting until his final moments – serve to strengthen morale and legitimise ongoing struggle.
Leadership and moral authority
Accounts attributed to figures like Ali Khamenei emphasise a model of leadership rooted in shared risk and moral consistency.
The idea is simple but powerful:
A leader cannot call for sacrifice while avoiding it.
This framing draws deeply from Islamic historical memory – particularly the legacy of Husayn ibn Ali – where steadfastness in the face of overwhelming odds is seen as the highest form of integrity.
Al-Quds Day: Meaning and mobilization
Al-Quds Day functions as more than a symbolic event. It is:
• A tool of political mobilisation
• A reaffirmation of ideological commitment
• A global expression of solidarity
It connects local struggles to a broader تصور (vision) of unity within the ummah.
Conclusion: War, power, and the future
The current confrontation with Iran cannot be reduced to a single issue. It reflects deeper structural tensions:
• Between independence and external control
• Between المقاومة (resistance) and normalization
• Between ideological commitment and political expediency
For its supporters, Iran represents defiance against a global order perceived as unjust. For its adversaries, it represents a destabilising force that must be contained.
What remains clear is that the conflicts across Palestine, Iran, and the wider region are not isolated. They are interconnected expressions of a larger struggle – one that will continue to shape the political and moral landscape of the Muslim world.
Dr Firoz Osman is an executive member of the Media Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa.
