The Middle East, a region long defined by cycles of grinding tragedy, occasionally witnesses seismic moments that reshape its trajectory. October 7 marked one such turning point. Another occurred this week with the historic fall of Damascus. The collapse of Syria has effectively dismantled the Iranian axis, heralding the end of a once-unbroken corridor of influence stretching from Tehran to the Mediterranean.
Until recently, Iran’s regime enjoyed seamless access for its proxy network. A truck could journey from southern Iran, cross mullah-aligned Iraq, traverse Syria’s eastern border—under the control of a regime loyal to Tehran—and reach Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut. Today, that corridor lies in ruins. Iran's decades-long investment of resources and hundreds of billions of petro-dollars into this strategy has evaporated, leaving its once-feared proxy network fragmented and vulnerable.
Hezbollah’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah famously likened Israel to a "spiderweb," fragile and ready to collapse. Ironically, the metaphor now fits Iran’s own network. Designed to protect Tehran, Iran's proxies instead dragged the regime into defending their failures, only to see their strategy unravel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s recent bitterness and accusations underscore Tehran’s profound loss—a development likely to bring a measure of relief to those seeking stability in the region.
Israel’s security analysts now point to a shift in the regional jihadist dynamic: Shiite jihadism, driven by Iran, is giving way to Sunni jihadism. For now, Syria’s new rulers will focus on projecting an image of moderation, attempting to restore order and consolidate power. However, in time, they are likely to frame the "return" of the Golan Heights as a central Islamic mission.
Yet, before delving into these foreboding prospects, one truth must be acknowledged: Syria has been freed. From the desolate expanses of its desert to the embattled provinces of Idlib, from the horrors of Saydnaya’s torture chambers to the bustling markets of Aleppo, and from Beirut’s streets to Iraq’s borders, the Middle East has entered a revolutionary new reality. The Iranian axis is no more, and the implications of this transformation will reverberate far beyond Damascus.
* Ynet contributed to this article.
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