Syria to Iran: Go away and stay away

The new rebel government in Syria has decided to bar all Iranian flights to the country, after first restricting the ban to flights delivering weapons or evacuating Iranian or pro-Iranian forces, according to a report today (Sunday) by Walla News.

This move by the rebel government, a clear effort to demonstrate its independence from Iran and desire to show itself to be a peaceful country interested in reconstruction, has encouraged many Israeli security sources.

In particular, this step means that Hezbollah, which relied very heavily on the Syrian smuggling route for rearmament and resupply, will now be cut off from that pipeline and will struggle much harder to rebuild, providing Israel with real breathing space.

However, Israel remains concerned about the character of the new government despite such gestures, and intends to speak with the United States over the coming days to hammer out a policy.

According to Tamir Morag of Channel 14, Israel is particularly worried that the new Syrian state will be a client state of Turkey, with its well-known hostility towards Israel, and will remain Jihadist or become so again despite its efforts to put on a new face.