New Middle East in the Making: Iran’s Post-Regime Pivot
Analyst Pejman Bijan argues that a post-regime Iran could redefine regional power by splitting Europe and the West, favoring a Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey bloc that keeps the region in an Islamist “insecurity” framework, or else a “New Middle East” anchored in free commerce and normalization between Israel, Iran and Gulf states. He ties this struggle to competing global powers (US, China, Russia) and highlights Mecca defense pacts and IMEC as indicators of future alignments, urging Western support for Iran’s pro-democracy, secular current while warning against deals with the regime. Europe is portrayed as divided between engagement with reformists and calls for change, and the author stresses the importance of backing Iranian civil society before it is sidelined by pressure or instability.