US–China strategic competition beyond the Indo-Pacific: investigating Iran’s middle power agency in West Asia

This research explores Iran’s role as a middle power agency in the context of US–China strategic competition in West Asia. It examines whether Iran plays any role in the US–China redistribution of power in West Asia. Applying Woosung Kim’s alliance power transition theory (APTT), the study analyses Iran’s middle power agency based on the necessary characteristics of material and economic capabilities and the sufficient conditions of normative-style diplomacy. Empirical data have revealed the reorientation of Iran’s neighbourhood Look East policy approach (Negah be Shargh), involving a tilt towards China and Russia. The research argues that by collaborating with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) (2023) and Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) (2024), Iran has facilitated the US–China regional redistribution of influence, acting as a dissatisfied middle power. The paper argues further that Iran’s economic policy is shaped by a preference for a resistance economy (Eqtesad Moqavemati), favouring regional and Eurasian partners, especially China, Russia, Iraq and the UAE. Therefore, generating constraints and indirect pressures within the regional balance of power, Iran functions as a structural agent in the US–China competitive dynamics in West Asia.