Taking advantage of a brief power vacuum or are we witnessing a scramble for Syria? As Islamist-led rebels savour their surprise swoop on Damascus, foreign powers are seizing the moment to either clean house or settle scores: Turkey targeting Kurds in the north, the US hitting Isis positions in the east and Israel firing on all cylinders in a bid to debilitate Iran-backed military installations. 

Assad never bent and so he broke, but for more than a decade, Syria’s seemingly immovable strongman could rely on Russia, powerful neighbour Iran, and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. 

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei blaming Assad’s fall on a US-Israeli plot and, without naming it, Turkey. How will Tehran react, particularly if the feels under threat?

Will the dust settle or is there more to come in the region?

 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Annarosa Zampaglione.