First Hamas, then Hezbollah, now Syria. As key components of Iran’s anti-Israel/anti-U.S. “Axis of Resistance” are sidelined or incapacitated, what is left of Tehran’s regional strategy?

By Samia Nakhoul DUBAI (Reuters) - 2025 will be a year of reckoning for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country's arch foe Iran. The veteran Israeli leader is set to cement his strategic goals: tightening his military control over Gaza,

Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

Iran has opened a direct line of communication with rebels in Syria's new leadership since its ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, in an attempt to "prevent a hostile trajectory" between the countries.

The Bashar al-Assad regime’s rapid collapse deals a heavy blow to Iran’s “axis of resistance” and its ability to project power in the region, and it raises fears Iran will focus more on developing its nuclear program.

Its decadeslong strategy of building an “Axis of Resistance” supporting militant groups and proxies around the region is falling apart. First came the crushing Israeli campaign in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Iranian-backed Hamas.

“It was like a root canal,” Yoram Schweitzer, a former Israeli intelligence officer, said of the bombing campaign in Syria. “Iran is always part of the picture.” Syria’s former radar ...

Iran had backed Assad in Syria's long civil war and his overthrow was widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led "Axis of Resistance", a political and military alliance that opposes Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East. As rebel forces from Hayat ...

Analysts and commentators say the collapse of Syria's Bashar al-Assad's regime is likely to reshape the power dynamics in the Middle East while signaling a critical shift in influence among world powers.

A senior delegation of U.S. diplomats arrived in Syria to meet with the new de facto rulers, looking to understand more about how they intend to govern.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Barbara Leaf, United States assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, said on Friday that Iran has no role in Syria following the collapse of its ally, Bashar al-Assad.