For decades, Iran assembled one of the most successful power-projection networks in the modern Middle East. Rather than relying solely on its own military power, Tehran built a constellation of armed partners stretching from Lebanon and Gaza to Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Together, they formed what Iranian officials proudly called the “axis of resistance” and what outside observers came to know as Iran’s "ring of fire."

The strategy served multiple purposes. It threatened Israel, expanded Iranian influence across the region and allowed Tehran to challenge its adversaries while keeping much of the fighting far from its own borders.

Better, in Iran’s view, for conflict to play out in Beirut, Damascus, Gaza, Baghdad and Sanaa than in Tehran itself.

The strategy was clever. Iran could intimidate its neighbors, threaten global commerce, pressure the United States and destabilize the region without bearing the full costs and risks of direct confrontation.

As analysts debate what the U.S. war with Iran accomplished, attention has focused on Iran’s nuclear program, its remaining military capabilities and the regime’s staying power. Yet it’s worth recognizing one of the war’s most consequential but underappreciated outcomes: the steady dismantling of the regional network through which Tehran projected power across the Middle East.

Iran's regional ambitions have been scaled back across Middle East

For years, Tehran’s influence rested on a........

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