Under Khamenei, and especially in the decade from 2010, Iran has made no secret of its ambitions as a regional-class power. It was formally excluded from participation in the Iraq War (2003-2011). Its contention with the Saudi Arabia, especially as one of the sponsors of the Houthi rebellion in Yemen, and its military aid to Syria over the course of the Syrian Civil War mark it as a threat to the status quo Pax Americana, under which flourish minor Sunni Emirates along the West coast of the Persian Gulf.