As regional conflicts are increasingly defined along Sunni-Shia lines, it is becoming more difficult for Shia-dominated Iran to gain influence in Sunni-majority countries. And Iran’s support for Assad’s brutal regime in Syria is damaging further its once-considerable soft power in other Arab countries.
但地区政治的极化可能破坏伊朗的立场。随着地区冲突越来越凸显出逊尼派-什叶派对峙的特征，什叶派占主导地位的伊朗将越来越难以在逊尼派占多数的国家形成影响力。伊朗支持巴沙尔在叙利亚的残酷统治进一步破坏了其在其他阿拉伯国家中曾经可观的软实力。