As Israel readies for a ground invasion of Gaza<\/a>, and Palestinian and Israeli civilian deaths continue to mount, a broader struggle for influence continues in the Middle East between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n The U.S. has long played an important leadership role in the Middle East. American influence has hinged on maintaining close ties<\/a> to diverse allies, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n And since the 1979 Iranian Revolution<\/a>, Iran\u2019s leaders have sought to boost their regional influence and secure their domestic position in power by undermining America\u2019s relationships<\/a> in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Iran has built its own regional network<\/a>, composed largely of Shia Muslim entities, including Bashar al-Assad\u2019s regime in Syria and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n Iran also has long supported Hamas<\/a>, a Sunni Islamist movement and U.S.-designated terrorist group that controls Gaza. Like Iran<\/a>, Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a scholar of international politics<\/a>, I am interested in how this rivalry between the U.S. and Iran has evolved and how this war may affect it.<\/p>\n The long-standing Israel-Palestinian dispute is central to Iran\u2019s regional strategy, which aims to drive a wedge between Israel and its neighbors and complicate U.S. relations throughout the Arab world. So far, the Israel-Hamas war appears to be having precisely those effects.<\/p>\n Iran has denied direct involvement<\/a> in Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities in Israel, in which Hamas fighters killed about 1,400 people<\/a> and kidnapped more than 200.<\/p>\n U.S. officials and others have said that it is too soon to determine<\/a> Iran\u2019s exact role in the violence.<\/p>\n Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has applauded the attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n He has called Israel\u2019s ensuing assault on Gaza \u201ca genocide<\/a>,\u201d as Palestinian casualties<\/a> generate large protests<\/a> against the Israeli offensive throughout the Middle East.<\/p>\n Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7 have killed more than 3,780 people<\/a>, according to the United Nations.<\/p>\n Iran has also threatened \u201cpreemptive<\/a>\u201d action against Israel if it continues its offensive.<\/p>\n Israel and Hezbollah are now exchanging daily artillery and rocket fire<\/a>. Israel has drawn a buffer zone near its border with Lebanon and has begun evacuating its citizens<\/a> there.<\/p>\nIran\u2019s role in the Gaza war<\/h2>\n