By Dr Masoumeh Mohammadi
International Relations Researcher
International Peace Studies Centre – IPSC
The New Power Dynamics in West Asia
The developments of 2025 in West Asia reveal a broad, multi-layered effort by the United States, NATO, and mainstream Western media to reconfigure West Asia’s geopolitics. This process employs a combination of military command, security diplomacy, and media dominance to curb the expanding influence of the Axis of Resistance, particularly Iran. The project leverages diverse mechanisms, including diplomatic visits, legal tools, psychological and media operations, and the redefinition of regional security concepts.
The NATO Summit in The Hague and the West’s New Defence Strategy
In June 2025, NATO’s summit in The Hague emphasised increasing member states’ defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Of this, 3.5% is allocated to defence and 1.5% to security infrastructure development; a move signalling efforts to forge a new strategic cohesion against transnational threats, especially from the Axis of Resistance. Under its policy of “gradual organisation,” the U.S. has maintained pressure on Iran through NATO and regional Arab alliances while strategically pivoting to compete with China in Asia. This approach represents a power-based diplomacy backed by military threats, aiming to contain the components of resistance power.
The Interplay of Economic and Legal Tools Against the Resistance
A key pillar of this strategy is the combined use of multi-layered economic sanctions and international legal instruments. While the West leverages institutions like the UN Security Council and human rights mechanisms to legitimise coercive measures against Iran and its allies, Iran’s “resistance economy” has not only endured but strengthened. The experience of the past decade shows that economic resilience and domestic empowerment have been integral to the Axis of Resistance’s survival and progress.
Western Media and the Battle of Narratives
Mainstream Western media play a decisive role in shaping public perception of the Axis of Resistance. Terms like “missile threats,” “regional destabilisation,” and “Iranian adventurism” are part of the discursive frameworks used to delegitimise the Resistance’s actions. In response, the Resistance movement employs indigenous media and multinational diplomatic networks to counter the project of “imposed peace” and construct its own independent narrative of regional order. The Resistance’s narratives are now expanding not only in political and military spheres but also in cultural and social domains.
The Arab NATO and the Redistribution of Regional Power
In recent years, the U.S. has sought to restructure regional power by forming alliances like the “Arab NATO,” comprising Israel, select Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, and specific Arab states. These alliances aim not only to contain Iran but also to engineer a new Western-backed security order in West Asia. Türkiye’s role as a bridge between East and West within NATO has also been reinforced, positioning it as a key intermediary in training, arms transfers, and security infrastructure development. However, challenges such as divergent member interests and high financial costs have hindered the full implementation of this strategy.
The Axis of Resistance’s Strategic Response: Cohesion and Soft Power Redefinition
Facing these multi-faceted pressures, the Axis of Resistance has focused on internal cohesion, strengthening political, cultural, and security ties among actors like Iran, Hezbollah, Ansarullah, and Palestinian resistance groups. Anti-Zionist and anti-imperialist discourse provides a shared ideological foundation, solidifying intra-coalition bonds. The Resistance has also prioritised multilingual content production, regional media expansion, and media literacy to counter the West’s cognitive warfare. This strategy seeks to amplify independent “counter-narratives” rooted in justice, political sovereignty, and active resistance.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the geopolitical reconfiguration of West Asia reflects a U.S. and NATO effort to reshape regional power dynamics using military, legal, economic, and media tools. In response, the Axis of Resistance combines political-cultural cohesion, economic institution-building, and soft power reconstruction to advance an independent, multipolar order. The future of the regional order hinges on each side’s ability to construct and defend its narratives. The coming battle will be waged not on traditional battlefields but in the realms of meaning, perception, and narrative.
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