The US-China strategic competition has escalated considerably since the second decade of the new millennium, prompting the US to turn its focus toward the Pacific region. This strategic shift has contributed to a multilayered disorder and a prolonged period of transition in the Middle East. This study investigates the ramifications of the US-China strategic competition on the evolving geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. The central research question explores how this competition influences the region’s transitional order. The hypothesis posits that the heightened US-China competition exacerbates conflicts, intensifies the security dilemma, and introduces multilayered strategic competition and confusion, thereby escalating regional tensions. Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology in this qualitative study, the data were collected through extensive library and online research to evaluate the sources and test the hypothesis. The findings reveal that the escalating US-China strategic competition has deepened the security dilemma, fostered conflict and competition patterns, and reinforced coalitions and alliances in the Middle East. Consequently, regional powers are increasingly striving to impose their preferred order as the dominant regional framework. Moreover, strategic competition and confusion have become the defining characteristics of the region, with little prospect for the de-escalation of tensions and rivalries.