Why Syria Has Stayed Out of Iran’s War

The Israeli attack on Iran appears to have begun with the destruction of radar installations in Syria that Tehran uses to track Israeli aerial deployments. The presence of these systems is one of countless examples of how deeply embedded Syria is in the Islamic Republic’s regional strategy. Last week, there was another: Israel killed Hizballah’s chief financial officer in Damascus. This was the IDF’s first strike on the country’s capital since April. Although the Israel jets have carried out hundreds of sorties on Syria in the past several years, Hassan Hassan observes that this front “has remained mysteriously calm” since the current war began last year. Unlike Iran’s other allies in Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon, Hassan explains, Bashar al-Assad is doing his best to stay out of it: