“Iran has its fair share of troubles. It is under increasing pressure to change its approach on the nuclear issue. The country’s economy, burdened by sanctions, is deteriorating. This affects ordinary people, as well as a regime that needs to worry that such hardship will lead to domestic dissent. There is also a chance that Iran will be targeted militarily, even if this option has been somewhat marginalized for now.

In the past year Iran’s concern over the fate of the regime in Syria, and what its collapse could mean, has been added to the list. Syria is Iran’s only ally. They are both partners on the same path: the struggle against Israel and against American intervention in the region, and the desire to mold a radicalized Middle East. Both countries top the list of states that export and support terrorism, and both provide money and weapons to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was created by Iran and is attached to it with an umbilical cord. Syria is the primary link in the chain connecting them. Iran uses Syria to build a Hezbollah-led Lebanon as the front line against Israel. It’s not surprising that the Syrian-Iranian relationship has been the longest lasting between any two countries in the Middle East — more than 30 years.”