Iran, with its nuclear and hegemonic ambitions, is the current center, while the old center – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – has been marginalized, giving rise to entirely new alliances of interests. Saudi Arabia and Israel (which have no formal diplomatic relations) are united against Iran – and against the possibility of a US-Iranian détente.
该地区政治战略轴心的永久性改变同样引人注目。拥有核野心及霸权抱负的伊朗成为当前的核心，而以巴冲突代表的原有核心已经边缘化，缔造出全新的利益联盟。（并未建立正式外交关系的）沙特和以色列共同反对伊朗——反对美伊关系出现缓和的可能性。