Introduction: "Three key events have significantly shaped the present-day Middle East: the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the United States, the Arab Spring of 2011, and the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the United States had a profound and far-reaching impact on Middle Eastern politics. It influenced regional dynamics, prompted significant changes in US foreign policy, and had ripple effects throughout the broader international system. The US initiated military operations in Afghanistan to dismantle the Taliban regime, which had harboured al-Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks."(...)