A recent diplomatic overture has brought renewed attention to the evolving alliances in the Middle East, as messages relayed between US officials and Syrian rebel figures underscore the ongoing struggle to counter Iranian-backed influence in Syria and support Israel’s security within the dynamic framework of the Abraham Accords. The exchanges—reportedly involving appeals for Syrian actors to expel Iran-aligned factions and a reciprocal proposal for investment opportunities in Syria’s energy sector—highlight the complexity of regional power relations and Israel’s central strategic interests.
The Abraham Accords, inaugurated in 2020, delivered a historic breakthrough by normalizing relations between Israel and multiple Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The initiative established lines of cooperation against shared threats, most prominently the Iranian regime and its terror proxies across the region. While the possibility of expanding the Accords to encompass state and non-state entities in Syria remains highly theoretical, the mere elevation of such discussions signals an acute awareness of the Iranian threat and underscores Israel’s position as the region’s anchor of stability and Western alignment.
Iranian Influence and Regional Security
Iran’s long-term investment in regional militancy—most notably through direct IRGC deployments, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and a network of armed terrorist groups in Gaza and Yemen—has transformed the threat landscape facing Israel and its partners. Nowhere is this more evident than in Syria, where Tehran has expanded its military footprint since the outbreak of the civil war, using the chaos to ship advanced weaponry and reinforce threatening positions along Israel’s northern borders. For Israel, this entrenchment constitutes an existential threat, repeatedly prompting preemptive strikes on Iranian assets and arms convoys.
In this environment, recent messages purportedly exchanged between US policymakers and Abu Muhammad al-Julani—leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda aligned jihadist organization now controlling parts of northwestern Syria—centered on the possible integration of Syrian-held regions into the Abraham Accords process if they cut ties with Iran-aligned forces. While practically unworkable, the overture highlights the ongoing search for partners against Iranian expansion and a willingness to reevaluate previously rigid alliances, so long as Israeli and American strategic interests are advanced.
Syria’s Energy Sector and External Investment
In response to the US call for distancing from pro-Iranian elements, HTS has reportedly floated the potential for US energy companies to participate in the reconstruction and development of Syria’s oil and gas sector. The war-torn country, devastated by years of multi-sided conflict, remains largely dependent on external support and black-market oil revenues to survive. However, with large swathes of the nation’s oil infrastructure outside of regime control—and international sanctions in place—meaningful Western investment remains essentially theoretical and politically fraught. For Israel and its allies, maintaining leverage over Syrian energy assets is one component in the broader campaign to constrain Iran’s reach and limit the Assad regime’s strategic depth.
US-Gulf-Israel Cooperation
The Abraham Accords have not only formalized diplomatic recognition but have deepened cooperation in security, trade, and technology. This trilateral dynamic—anchored by American leadership, Israeli technological prowess, and Gulf Arab economic clout—has delivered tangible benefits to Israeli security, including intelligence collaboration and counter-terror operational synergy. Such alliances serve as a critical bulwark for deterring Iranian adventurism, restricting arms flows to terror groups, and ensuring the region’s energy arteries remain free from hostile takeover.
Israel’s Ongoing Security Challenges
The October 7, 2023, massacre orchestrated by Hamas from Gaza remains the most lethal antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust, with over 1,200 Israeli civilians brutally murdered and scores taken hostage. The operation, planned, supplied, and financed by Iran, vividly underscores both the immediate human cost of unchecked terror networks and Israel’s obligation to defend its population. The continued operations of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and IRGC-backed militias in Syria form a regional axis seeking to undermine Israeli sovereignty and destabilize pro-Western governments across the Middle East.
Despite international debates, Israel’s military actions remain grounded in its right to self-defense—a right recognized under international law and reinforced by the moral clarity of defending civilians against targeted attacks. The distinction between Israeli defensive operations and the terrorist violence perpetrated by Iran-backed organizations is both a legal and ethical imperative in responsible reporting and policy formulation.
Looking Ahead: Prospects and Limitations
While recent overtures to Syrian rebel figures do not hold immediate practical consequence, they reflect a broader strategic mindset aimed at forging flexible, interest-driven coalitions to isolate Iran and disrupt its proxies. For the US and Israel, the tools of diplomacy, economic leverage, and military deterrence are mutually reinforcing, as they seek to maintain the balance of power in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
The advancement of the Abraham Accords and continued US engagement with Gulf states supply Israel with both diplomatic recognition and tangible security advantages, contributing to a regional system aligned against terror networks and external interference. As Syria remains a fractured battleground—caught between the orbit of Iran, Russia, rebel groups, and limited Western influence—strategic calculations will continue to focus on denying Tehran the ability to consolidate its proxy network and threaten Israel’s northern flank.
The road to a durable peace in the Middle East requires clear-eyed realism and partnership among states willing to uphold the principles of sovereignty and mutual recognition. Israel’s place as the lone democracy facing a network of Iranian-backed terror remains central to this equation; the region’s stability depends on confronting—not appeasing—those who seek its destruction.
