Iran seems in a rush these days to impose a new political map on the region, particularly in regards to the West. Perhaps the clearest and most important of recent developments have been in the Gulf, an area the Islamic Republic now wants to see completely free of US presence. Signs of this US weakness unparalleled in the superpowers history started appearing towards the end of George W Bushs term after the Israeli defeat in its wars on Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008; Irans success in consolidating its dominance over Iraq in 2009; and, an implicit recognition of US defeat in Afghanistan in 2010. There is also the deepening structural economic crisis that has befallen the US and the West in general. The US military is exhausted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lack of finances to rebuild the military. The result is a tendency by the US administration to retreat in favor of rebuilding the homeland on the basis of the US first motto. Based on the balance of power and the outcome of the conflict, Tehran believes the US withdrawal from Iraq should be the beginning of a US withdrawal from the Gulf region as a whole. According to Iranian sources, no one should be surprised if Tehran demands in the near future that the US Fifth Fleet leave Bahrain. According to one source this means that the battle with arrogance (i.e., the US) was being fought indirectly. It is true Iran was running the show but it was not in the forefront. That is what happened for instance in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, and even Syria. Today however, Iran has decided to take the lead and confront [the US] directly, starting in the Gulf. Source : Al-Akhbar