On the 13th (local time), immediately after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), issued statements unanimously criticizing Israel. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said, "We condemn and denounce Israel's act of aggression." However, Syria, a long-time ally of Iran, has remained silent so far.
According to The New York Times (NYT) on the 17th, Syria has been one of Iran's closest allies in the Middle East. In the past, when Iran was building anti-Israel militias in the Levant region of the Middle East, including Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, Syria provided critical support to Iran. Iran has also been the strongest backer of the Assad regime, which has ruled with an iron fist for 53 years.
Syria's recent silence stems from changes in its relationship with Iran. In December of last year, the Assad regime, which was allied with Iran, fell to rebels. Since then, the interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Shara, has publicly criticized the Iranian forces that supported the Assad regime for inciting instability in Syria and Middle Eastern countries. He also promised not to allow any militia to attack Israel from Syrian territory.
NYT noted, "This promise stems from deep resentment toward Iran, which has provided military support to the dictator Assad regime for 14 years to counter rebel forces in the Syrian civil war," adding, "President al-Shara's promise can also be viewed as an effort to gain support from Western countries."
Earlier in February, National Public Radio (NPR) mentioned that al-Shara stated the presence of Iranian militias under the previous regime posed a strategic threat throughout the region, saying, "Iran's once-strong presence in Syria has almost completely vanished. With Assad's ousting, Iranian troops have withdrawn, and the Iranian embassy in Damascus remains closed."
Since beginning to align closely with the Donald Trump administration, President al-Shara has drawn a line regarding relations with Iran. Ibrahim al-Assil, a senior researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, "Syria's silence sends a strong signal to Israel and the U.S. that Syria is no longer part of the Iranian axis and that no local forces will use Syrian land and territory to initiate attacks against Israel."
Syria has recently also sought to improve relations with Israel, an adversary of Iran. NYT reported, citing two relevant officials, that "In recent weeks, the al-Shara government has held direct talks with Israeli officials regarding security issues," adding, "This marks a significant change between the two countries that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades." Improving relations with Israel has also been a demand from President Trump to Syria.
Israel is responding to this as well. Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria since the third Middle East war in 1967, and after the ousting of the Assad regime, it has conducted hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military bases to prevent the emergence of extreme Iranian forces. However, in the past month, Israel has lowered the frequency of bombings in Syria.