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,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan both see an opportunity to advance their competing interests in post-Assad Syria.

For Iran’s theocratic government, it keeps getting worse. Its decadeslong strategy of building an “Axis of Resistance” supporting militant groups and proxies around the region is falling apart.

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.

Not long ago, Tehran’s network of militias appeared ascendant. “The resistance front has had a really hard year,” Iran’s foreign minister acknowledged.

One of Israel's goals in its campaign in the Gaza Strip has been to also weaken Iran. The fall of the Syrian dictator suggests the strategy is paying off. This could open up new options for the U.S.

Tehran's ties to Damascus had allowed Iran to spread its influence ... Iran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad during the war and deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power. Hezbollah also played a major part, sending ...

There is a sense of confusion and concern, particularly among the country’s minority communities, about how Syria will now be governed.

Syria's largest oil refinery, Baniyas, has reportedly halted its operations after losing crude shipments from Iran, its primary supplier. The Financial Times cited Syrian refinery's General Manager, Ibrahim Mousallem,

For years, Syria has stood as a central pillar in Tehran’s regional proxy strategy. Iranian weapons, training, and funding have supported groups across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon,