Against the backdrop of widespread security tensions since the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah Chief of Staff Fuad Shukar in Beirut, officials in the Assad regime have sent messages to Iran in recent days clarifying that Syria does not wish to be drawn into a regional war in the Middle East, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, based on the words of an adviser to the Syrian government and a European security official, in Damascus they said they do not want to be involved in the war now, given the heavy economic crisis in the country and the international sanctions against the Syrian regime.
The survival of the Assad regime depends mainly on aid from Iran and its militias - which could be harmed in the event of a war against Israel.
On the other hand, it is claimed that the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq as well as the Houthis in Yemen are pressuring Tehran to take a more aggressive approach towards Israel as well as towards the American military forces stationed throughout the Middle East. Security officials and researchers quoted in the report claimed that the conflicting messages and desires of Iran's allies lead to great pressure among the leadership in Tehran.
