zlacker

> You would expect Sunni powers to head the opposition to Israel, as 99% of Palestinians are Sunni,

They did. First the UAR and Egypt as the UAR dissolved, later, after Egypt-Israel peace, Iraq took up a role. Iran started backing groups that were more extreme Islamists (though still Sunni) that opposed (and often directly fought) the main anti-Israel Palestinian groups, which ended up themselves as the main fighting groups as the peace process took the PLO off the table as a group actively fighting against Israel, and took up an even bigger role when the destruction of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq took Iraq off the table entirely, creating both a regional power vacuum and removing the main issue focusing Iran's attention away from Israel.

>>dragon+(OP)
That's fair. My oversimplified narrative elides that a lot of changes have occurred over the decades. Iran remains the head of the anti-Israel opposition because a lot of the Sunni Arab states have diminished over time and sought economic ties if not outright diplomatic ties with Israel. And Iraq falling into the Iranian sphere of influence, as you allude to, only meant that Iran's star has risen.