Iran's next move

With the US, the long-time global leader, seemingly weakened in recent times, the radical axis of Syria, Iran, and the Hezbollah may look to take advantage next year, writes Ehud Barak

THE Middle East is a region where predictions go to die. And the region’s recent turbulence has made forecasting the course of events there even more treacherous. But, as became increasingly clear in 2013, the main source of the Middle East’s crises is not a “clash of civilisations”, but a clash within Islam.

The civilian death toll from this struggle is staggering. The combined figure for Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Syria is now approaching many hundreds of thousands — perhaps 10 times the total death toll of the Israeli-­Palestinian conflict since 1948 — while millions more are leading squalid lives as refugees.