How Shia-Sunni divide has become an interesting sub-plot in the Iran war
- Team TOI Plus
- TIMESOFINDIA.COMUpdated: Mar 06, 2026, 14:53 IST IST
The killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel joint offensive and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across Gulf states have renewed global attention on the region’s long-standing sectarian divide between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Although the current conflict is primarily geopolitical — centred on Iran’s nuclear programme, its regional influence, and a complex web of proxies — it is often interpreted through the lens of this sectarian divide.
Although the current conflict is primarily geopolitical — centred on Iran’s nuclear programme, its regional influence, and a complex web of proxies — it is often interpreted through the lens of this sectarian divide.
