Over the last few years in particular, the nature of Iran's relations with its Arab neighbors has altered in ways that has gradually caused frictions and evolving layers of distrust. In its pursuit to expand its domain of influence, foster external political enclaves and simultaneously intensify its containment of American strategies, Iran has furthered its presence and political authority in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and the Palestinian territories. As Iran's confrontation with the United States has entered new domains of sanctions and security encirclement of Iran, Tehran's singular pursuit of interests to oppose Washington has caused further isolation between Tehran and many Arab governments in the region. Though Iran enjoys close relations with Qatar, UAE, the Iraqi government and Syria, relations with leading Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt suffer from distrust and decreasing interconnectedness. Unlike the past where Iran reached out to influential Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia to coordinate matters at the regional level, such inclinations no longer hold much clout. Nonetheless, there are attempts on both sides between Iran and the Arab countries to contain tensions and promote understanding and coordination. However, strategic cooperation appears to be a far-fetched objective.