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,

Washington is scrapping a long-standing reward for the arrest of Syria's new leader, a senior U.S. diplomat said Friday, following "positive messages" from a first meeting that included a promise to fight terrorism.

In the final days leading to his ouster, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complained to Iran's foreign minister that Turkey was actively supporting Sunni rebels in their offensive to topple him, two Iranian officials told Reuters this week.

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.

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.

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.

“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 ...

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.

Foreign governments, including Russia, Iran, China and Israel, have responded to the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday.

A senior US diplomat told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest, and welcomed "positive messages" from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.