English abstract
The Middle East is a place that has been destined to be in the middle of the earth, a region
where its name came from the European perspective. The region has been loosely defined to
include definitive and limited countries; different sources have different countries that represent
the Middle East. Historically, varied empires and colonies have dominated the Middle East,
producing a region with micro-societies that have different cultures, religions, and languages. The
result is a region where continuous conflicts and tensions take a place. On top of that, the lack of
security in the Middle East came from the regional structural system, where there is dangerous
multipolarity, and no overarching regional hegemon power, resulting in regional competition
tearing the security fabric of the Middle East. This was exacerbated by the declining role of the
United States in the region, leaving a vacuum of power, and pushing the regional states to compete
for regional hegemony. Therefore, the Middle East has been plagued by proxy wars, terrorism,
civil conflicts, and territorial disputes.
The increasing tensions between Iran and Israel in the last decade, chiefly because of the
Iranian nuclear program, have prompted this thesis to explore and investigate the security role of
Iran and Israel in the Middle East. Iran, since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the country adopted
a new political and ideological system based on the Islamic Shi'a principles. The new Iran perused
regional expansionism rhetoric, where it believed that the Middle Eastern governments should be
purified from the western mentality and secularism and adopt an Islamic government similar to
that of Iran. In addition, there have been security concerns about Iran's nuclear program, which
was reflected by the regional perception of it. Israel, is a state that was established with the help
of the United Kingdom in 1948. Israel believed that they belong to Palestine for historic and
religious reasons, considering Jerusalem as a sacred land for them. Israel also has been the single
state in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons, which disturbs the security balance of the region.
In the light of the abovementioned argument, this thesis aims to investigate Iran and Israel's
threat to the Middle East from different perspectives; (1) their ideological affinities; (2) Weapons
of Mass Destruction (WMDs) ambitions; and (3) the regional security perceptions about them. The
evaluation will take into consideration the ongoing regional changes, which include; the US's
declining role in the Middle East, and the economic crises. The thesis employed a qualitative
approach, with a Regional Security Complex theoretical framework, and relied on existing
knowledge and structured interviews. The results showed that Iran's ideology harms the stability
of the Middle East, however, in terms of WMDs Israel poses a larger threat than Iran's nuclear
program, yet, the recent political and economic developments have pushed the regional states
towards Israel.
