Suriyakmaps

The Syrian civil war is a conflict that became internationalized from the very beginning, when the former political regime had to face a coalition of countries that, through their proxies on the ground, sought to topple it and divide up the country—or what remained of it. One of those coalition members was the State of Israel, which sought to destroy Syria in order to sever the Tehran-Beirut connection. The former regime failed to intervene in support of Hezbollah in 2023 (by then it was already too late, as Syrian commanders had been bribed), but it did not collaborate with Tel Aviv to weaken Iran. In fact, it was Russia that pressured Damascus to meet Israeli demands, denying the use of the S-300 and S-400 systems and leaving the SAA to fend for itself in air defense against attacks on Israel. The former regime’s anti-Iranian sentiment stems from the Islamist nature of the Iranian regime. Damascus always appreciated Iranian support in its defense against terrorist groups—Iran having contributed the most to sustaining the former political regime—but it feared that Tehran’s influence in Damascus would result in concessions to Syrian Islamists in the hypothetical event of a peace and reconciliation agreement, something to which the Assads (father and son) have always been opposed. Currently, terrorists control the country, and no matter how much one might try to cast them in an anti-Israel light, the facts are clear and evident: Israel has managed to advance several kilometers further into the country since 2024 without facing any opposition from the authorities, who have, in fact, taken it upon themselves to attack and dismantle armed cells and groups inclined to defend Syrian territory. HERE—and not in the scenario portrayed by propagandists—is where Damascus’s collaboration with Israel to curb Iran, or at least its proxies, becomes apparent.