Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on the 8th (local time) that the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria was due to military operations by his country’s forces. He explained that a sort of “domino effect” occurred as Israel dealt blows to Iran and Hezbollah, which had supported the Assad regime, following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October last year.
On the other hand, Iran, which lost the Assad regime, a key ally in the anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli front in the Middle East, stated that Syria’s future should be decided by its people without external imposition.
According to Israeli media such as Ynet, Netanyahu visited the Golan Heights, a Syrian border area in the north of Israel. He declared it a “historic day in the Middle East” as the Assad regime, a key link in Iran’s “axis of evil,” had fallen. He attributed this directly to the impact on Iran and Hezbollah, who supported the Assad regime.
The Israeli military came under surprise attack by the Palestinian armed group Hamas on October 7, sparking a war. In response, Israel attacked both the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon. From September to November, during a temporary truce, Israeli ground forces engaged in operations in southern Lebanon, dealing significant damage to Hezbollah’s capabilities. The Guardian reported, “The domino effect of the Gaza war that began on October 7 still resonates in the Middle East,” acknowledging Iran’s resistance axis as having collapsed.
Iran and its ally Lebanese Hezbollah had supported Assad’s regime throughout the Syrian civil war.
Additionally, Netanyahu instructed the military to seize control of dominant positions in the buffer zone along the Syrian border, stating, “No hostile forces will be tolerated along the border.” He claimed that although the area had been defined as a buffer zone under a 1974 agreement for 50 years, it had now collapsed as the Syrian army abandoned its positions.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi met with Golani Brigade recruits, noting, “Since yesterday, we’ve been operating on four fronts,” referring to engagements in Judea and Samaria (the Israeli term for the West Bank), Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria where the army was deployed.
Israel seized the Golan Heights, previously Syrian territory, during the 1967 Six-Day War and effectively controls it. In 1974, a disengagement agreement established a buffer zone monitored by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). Last month, media outlets such as CNN and BBC reported that Israel appeared to have dug trenches in parts of the Golan Heights, potentially violating agreements.
Iran, which supported the Assad regime, maintained that “determining Syria’s future and destiny should be solely the responsibility of the Syrian people without destructive interference or external imposition.” In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity amidst recent events, calling for an immediate halt to military conflict and the establishment of an inclusive governance structure representing all Syrians through national dialogue. The ministry also emphasized continued support for the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 concerning the Syrian political process, pledging to closely monitor the situation and adopt an appropriate approach if necessary.
Resolution 2254, adopted in December 2015, seeks a political solution to the Syrian conflict, urging all parties to cease weapon use and engage in ceasefire negotiations. It notably excludes the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra, which controlled significant Syrian territory at the time, from discussions related to the cease-fire. This aspect is notable given that the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), leading the recent rebel offensive, has origins in the al-Nusra Front, suggesting an intention in Iran’s statement to curb HTS influence.