Syria's new Sunni Islamist government, led by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, has begun to mark a clear break with the regional alignment that characterized Bashar al-Assad's regime for more than two decades.
As a sign of this strategic shift, a source close to the government in southern Syria told the Israeli outlet Kan News that Damascus "doesn't oppose" Israeli activity aimed at intercepting Iranian missiles and drones crossing Syrian airspace.
The same source stated that the new Syrian regime doesn't want to become involved in a war between Israel and Iran. However, it also doesn't oppose Israel acting to protect itself within Syrian skies. The source also revealed that there is a level of security coordination between both countries, something unthinkable just a few months ago.
The new Syrian government, installed after the collapse of Assad's regime at the end of 2024, has chosen to break with the Shiite axis of Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah, which dominated Syrian foreign policy since 2011.
While Bashar al-Assad was one of Iran's staunchest allies in the region, allowing the installation of Iranian military bases and facilitating the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, Ahmed al-Sharaa represents a new stage of Arab-Sunni identity and geostrategic independence.
In line with this stance, the Syrian government, unlike other Arab countries, has also not condemned Israel's recent airstrike against military and nuclear targets on Iranian territory, which took senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard out of action.
On the contrary, expressions of satisfaction among Syrian citizens have been heard, according to the same source, who attribute this joy to anger over Iran's intervention in favor of Assad during the civil war in Syria.
The recent clashes between Iran and Israel have intensified regional tension. A few days ago, Israel launched a high-precision military operation against strategic Iranian facilities, including refineries, weapons depots, and Revolutionary Guard bases. The objective is to destroy the Islamic regime's capacity to develop a nuclear bomb.
In the face of this developing conflict, the new Syrian government's active neutrality, along with its willingness to tolerate—and even coordinate—Israeli defense operations in its airspace, marks a momentous shift in the country's policy.
