The north pincer is commonly referred to as the “Shiite Crescent,” stretching from the body across Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea.
It is both a “lid” on Iran’s primary enemies Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel and a wedge between Sunni Turkey and the Sunni Arab States.
The southern pincer stretches from the body through the Persian Gulf and under the Arabian Peninsula with a Houthi-led war on the Saudis from Yemen in the heel of the boot, and from there stretching Iran’s influence up the Red Sea along the coasts of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia — and about 18 miles across the Bab el-Mandeb Straits from the US base in Djibouti.
Attention has been rightly and happily focused on the Abraham Accords agreements between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, witnessed by the United States and openly encouraged by the other Gulf States and Arab countries.
But those changes in the politics of the southern pincer make Iran more desperate and more determined to control the northern one.
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And Iran’s position along the northern pincer is being eroded. Syria is a crucial piece, allowing Iran to reach its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon over land.