TTHE 1973 YOM KIPPUR WAR had a lasting effect across the Middle East. Egypt and Syria had again been defeated, but Israelis also felt more vulnerable after the war. The oil embargo empowered oil-exporting nations like Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Iraq. The Middle East faced deepening divisions, which added to the conflict between Israel and its neighbors. Rising Islamic militancy led to revolution in Iran, as well as a spreading religious challenge to the rule of secular, modernizing dictatorships in countries like Egypt.