The Middle East has long been a hobgoblin for foreign powers and, as much as Afghanistan, also a graveyard of empires. Sitting squarely astride ancient trade routes and with the added impetus of the world's addiction to oil, the area has been a hot spot for centuries.

Now, with the old regime teetering and losing its grip, Iran makes a bid for forcing the West to recognize its complete sovereignty and control over its own affairs by striking at the one thing they care about: the flow of oil. Mining the Straits of Hormuz and declaring it closed to all traffic, Iran defies the world. The US, and perhaps some of its allies, takes action to re-open the straits and get the black gold flowing to the world again.

Next War: Iran is the sixth game in the Next War series. It is unique in the series in that the Allied player has to do the attacking while the non-Allied player attempts to defend its territory against neo-imperial oppression. With a long logistical tail, few true allies in the region, and the menace of Iran's A2AD capabilities, re-opening the Straits is a tall order.

Ownership of any previous Next War series will NOT be required to play Next War: Iran.

Units

Ground units in Next War: Iran primarily represent divisions and brigades of the armies of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America. All ground units are rated for their attack and defense strengths, movement capabilities, and unit efficiency. The Iranian armed forces feature all three branches of land forces: Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Forces, Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; they might get some Russian intervention for whatever that's worth. On the Allied side, the primary forces are the United States with potential involvement by the UK, Australia, France, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Air units represent the fighter, bomber, and attack squadrons of the major combatants. They are rated for All-Weather Capabilities, range, average pilot skill and training, and their capabilities in Air-to-Air Combat, Close Air Support, and Strike missions.

Naval units represent an abstraction of groups of ships (task forces) and allow players to conduct amphibious invasions, naval combat, naval gunfire support, and more.

Maps and Terrain

The game’s map represents the area along the coast of Iran at a scale of roughly 7.5 miles per hex. The map stretches from the important port of Chah Bahar in the east to a hundred or so miles west of the Straits of Hormuz.

There are a couple of Island Land Areas, similar to other games in the series which contain some important Petroleum Facilities the Allies will want to seize intact if they can.
 
Features

• Weather Determination. Bad weather can severely hamper air and naval operations activity and can significantly slow ground operations.
• Initiative Determination and Air/Naval Phase, wherein Air Superiority levels and air availability are determined and Sea Control is established or modified.
• Special Operations Phases in the Advanced Game allow players to utilize their special operators in various recon and raid missions behind enemy lines.
• Strike Phases in the Advanced Game allow players to launch air strikes, cruise missiles, and artillery and SSM strikes.
• One or more Movement and Combat Phases that allow both sides to move, react, and fight with an advantage to the Initiative player on non-Contested turns
• Arrival of Reinforcements and Replacements
• Victory Determination

Combat resolution examines not only unit strengths but also unit efficiency (representing training, doctrine, and morale), as well as the terrain where the combat takes place. The CRT tends to be very bloody in nature, reflecting what we believe will be a degree of attritional warfare due to the lethality of modern weapons. As in many games, casualties represent not only actual combat losses but also loss of unit cohesion brought about by the rapid pace with which modern armies are able to engage and exploit on the battlefield.

Scenarios

There are several Standard Game scenarios. Some are small and focus on limited objectives while at least one will be a campaign game encompassing the entire map. Similarly to previous games in the series, the Advanced Game scenarios will be divided into various starting points representing different levels of build-up before the game begins.

So, the question remains. Can you, as the Allied player, enforce the will of the West on Iran and get the oil flowing again? Or will you, as the Iranian player, defy the world?

Time scale: 3.5 days per turn
Map scale: 7.5 miles per hex
Unit scale: Division/Brigade/Battalion
Players: 2 (optimal)