Abstract

The US-Israeli war on Iran poses many theoretical and empirical questions related to alliances and balance theory in IR as well as the restructuring of regional power balance between the US and Russia in the minor Asia region encompassing the post-soviet republics. While this region has been subject to Russian and American competition for influence, the war on Iran paves the way toward tilting the power balance in favor of Russia, notably with the US shifts in foreign policy making and public opinion move away from a pro-Israeli US policy. Examining the context of the war, the factors influencing the US decision-making and the opportunity structures it opens for Iran and Russia in the region, this study reevaluates the traditional tenets of the power balance theory through the prism of the rising identity politics and structural transformations in US, Russia, and Iran foreign policies.