Syria’s Assad and Iran Face Tough Choices as Rebels Advance
- President’s future hinges on support from his old allies
- Russia is a key factor, though is focused on war in Ukraine
A tank, left behind by regime forces, on the road leading to Khan Sheikhun, Syria, on Dec. 1 .
Photographer: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty ImagesSyria-based rebel forces are seeking to build on recent gains and capture more territory controlled by the government, raising the question of whether President Bashar Al-Assad can hold onto power.
There are a lot of unknowns in how the latest twist in Syria’s 15-year conflict will play out, and much depends on the agendas of powerful external actors as much as the internal enmities that have influenced events. For Assad, 59, that means Iran, which considers Syria part of its so-called axis of resistance against Israel and the West and has for years provided the bulk of ground forces, and Russia, an old Cold War-era ally that stepped in to save him in 2015.