The Western-oriented alliance has largely improved its position in 2020; avoiding war with Iran will be the main challenge of 2021.
It is still the playground of internal and external forces, but now, at least the situation of the Arab countries is becoming clearer. They are either on the side of Saudi Arabia/Israel/Egypt/UAE/Bahrain and the U.S. or waiting in the wings to join that alliance, such as Oman and Kuwait, or they are part of the Iranian coalition of failed states: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and non-state actors: Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, al-Quaida and ISIS.