Israel Resumes Pursuit of Iranian Presence in Syria Amid Russian Silence

A poster showing Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad hung on a street in Damascus | Reuters
A poster showing Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad hung on a street in Damascus | Reuters
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Israel Resumes Pursuit of Iranian Presence in Syria Amid Russian Silence

A poster showing Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad hung on a street in Damascus | Reuters
A poster showing Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad hung on a street in Damascus | Reuters

A former military official in Tel Aviv on Wednesday considered the airstrikes launched by Israel on four Syrian governorates a resumption of chasing out the Iranian presence there amid Russian silence.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Israel targeting Iran proxy militia positions on the Sokhna – Deir Ezzor highway in eastern Syria.

"Five pro-Iranian fighters were killed in a strike on a military center belonging to pro-Tehran militias" on the Sokhna-Deir Ezzor road in eastern Syria, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

He said many others were injured, with several in critical condition.

Two air force soldiers were killed in another raid on a telecommunications center in the southern Sweida province, he said.

The army said Israeli jets hit an army outpost in Salamiya and another in Sabura towns in Hama province only hours after missiles struck other military installations in Deir Ezzor province along the border with Iraq and in southern Syria near the border with Jordan.

Former IDF Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin warned on Wednesday that two waves of air attacks in Syria linked to Israel on Tuesday night will likely provoke serious retaliation from Iran and its proxies.

“The Iranians and their proxies will search for ways to respond to and deter Israel,” tweeted Yadlin, currently executive director of the prestigious Institute for National Security Studies, on Wednesday.

The former intelligence officer cited past attempts to fire rockets into Israel and recent cyberattacks targeting Israeli businesses and infrastructure, giving a taste of what might come.

Yadlin also asserted that the circumstances of the incident show that recent claims that the Iranians were leaving Syria were “wishful thinking.”

Moscow ignored the Israeli raids, with reactions criticizing the content of the speech of the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem two days ago.

A Middle East affairs expert told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian regime is no longer able to change its attitude and face the serious problems challenging the war-torn country.

The expert believed that the main problem lies in the increasing conviction among the Russian elites of the inability to separate the Syrian regime from Iran.



Kurdish Leaderships Reveal Details of Plan to Merge with Syrian Army

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)
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Kurdish Leaderships Reveal Details of Plan to Merge with Syrian Army

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi. (Reuters)

Sources close to the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the group’s decision to merge its military and security bodies with those of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration is a serious step toward talks with Damascus.

The move, announced late Monday, aims to integrate the SDF into the Syrian army.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi invited Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to visit SDF-held areas in northeastern Syria, congratulating him on leading the country’s transition.

The SDF had published the minutes of a three-way meeting that included Abdi along with leaders from the group’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, and the executive administration of the Autonomous Administration.

The meeting resulted in an agreement to merge the SDF’s military and security institutions with the security bodies of the Autonomous Administration under the Syrian army’s structure.

It also approved the reactivation of state-run civil and service institutions in northeastern Syria and the withdrawal of non-Syrian foreign fighters from SDF ranks and areas under its control as part of efforts to bolster national sovereignty and stability.

Abu Omar Al-Idlibi, a senior commander in the SDF, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting concluded with an understanding that the SDF would be integrated into Syria’s Ministry of Defense as a single unit, potentially within a corps or as part of the ministry’s eastern command.

However, he noted that discussions were still in their early stages and that oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria were not on the agenda at this stage, but could be addressed in future talks.

Al-Idlibi described the move as an effort to unify forces and strengthen national unity, while reviving state-run civil and service institutions in the northeast to improve public services and living conditions.

The meeting emphasized the need to boost coordination with Damascus, increase dialogue on national issues, and reaffirm Syria’s territorial integrity.

Al-Idlibi said the latest decisions would support the integration of local forces into the Syrian army, bolster its defense capabilities, and facilitate the return of displaced people to their hometowns, particularly those from areas affected by Turkish military operations.