Iran’s new strategy in Syria - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Ali Hashem

Ali Hashem

May 13, 2015

A general view shows a besieged hospital, the last remaining Syrian army foothold in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, in the province of Idlib May 3, 2015. Syrian troops backed by heavy air strikes have edged closer to a hospital in northwestern Syria where dozens of Syrian soldiers and loyalist fighters have been holed up for the past two weeks, the army said on Sunday. The town was overrun last month by insurgents, including al Qaeda's wing in Syria, Nusra Front. Picture taken May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abd — A general view shows a besieged hospital on May 3, 2015, in what was the last remaining Syrian army foothold in the town of Jisr al-Shughur in the province of Idlib. — REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters carry a replica of Hezbollah emblem during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RTSRWQ6

After Aleppo victory, what's next for Hezbollah?

Mona Alami

Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters rest on the back of a pick-up truck with an installed weapon in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region after they advanced in the area May 15, 2015. Lebanon's Hezbollah and Syria's army made big advances against insurgents in mountains north of Damascus on Wednesday, Hezbollah and Syrian state media said, shoring up President Bashar al-Assad's grip on the border zone. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX1D54Z

Hezbollah courts media outlets

Ali Rizk

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad are seen at al-Sakhra village in Qalamoun Mountains, northeast of Damascus, after taking control of the village from rebel fighters April 14, 2014. Syrian soldiers backed by Hezbollah fighters recaptured the town of Maaloula, north of Damascus, on Monday, military sources and state television said, further squeezing rebels' supply routes through the Qalamoun mountains into Lebanon. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UN

The battle at Qalamoun

Jean Aziz (Lebanon Pulse)

Jean Aziz (Lebanon Pulse)

Lebanese army soldiers on their military vehicles enter the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley March 19, 2014. The Lebanese army reopened a road between two towns near the Syrian border on Wednesday to try to calm sectarian rivalry aggravated by the conflict in neighbouring Syria. Shi'ite Muslims from the Bekaa Valley town of al-Labwa, where Hezbollah has strong support, had erected sandbag barriers at the weekend to cut off the Sunni Muslim town of Arsal from the rest of Lebanon. RE

Nusra attacks on Lebanon attempt to 'change rules of game'

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict