The Secret Winners of the Iran War
While Tehran and Tel Aviv counted their losses, others quietly counted gains. From Gulf capitals to Moscow and Beijing, the war rewarded actors who never fired a shot.
Simon Whistler • March 31, 2026
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Note: this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors or inconsistencies.
In theory, winning a war should be easy. Your military needs to be either so overwhelmingly strong that your opponent gives up, or lucky enough to string together a quick succession of victories that leaves your opponent no choice but to throw in the towel. Losing a war should be even easier.
All you've got to do is sit, wait, and allow your opponent to steamroll over you. But again, this is just theory. Very few militaries have the overwhelming strength or the kind of luck that wins wars quickly.
And even when they do, very few nations are going to sit still and wait to be destroyed. They'll usually prepare to engage in asymmetric warfare. Well, that's exactly what's happening in Iran right now.
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