Middle East

Alongside its relations with the West, Oman maintains close ties with Iran and Qatar and assists the terrorist organization operating from its neighbor Yemen.

Agreement reportedly struck with officials in the predominantly Druze province of Al-Suwayda, establishing terms for the region's full integration into state institutions. Israeli source says policy toward regime won't change.

According to the State Department's rewards program announcement, the Iranian company Kimia Part Sivan conducted flight tests of unmanned aerial vehicles for the Revolutionary Guards and acquired high-quality drone components from foreign companies.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria's new interim president and former rebel commander, is an experiment in rebranding. His cautious stance on Israel represents part of his broader effort while focusing on rebuilding his war-torn country.

In conversations with Israel Hayom, Syrians from the coastal region in western Syria describe ethnic cleansing: "They are burning and slaughtering us. No country is responding to our cries, not even the Russians, who have been in our land for years. Israel is the only one that can protect us."

The director of the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights states that documentation exists for 745 Alawites murdered on sectarian grounds in what constitutes ethnic cleansing, describing these actions as "a war crime committed by the new government."

It isn't a question of if, simply because no other option remains. A "hit and run" scenario involving a small number of aircraft, like those executed by the Israeli Air Force in Iraq in 1981 or Syria in 2007, are irrelevant. Against multiple sites, some of which are underground, many more aircraft would be needed, possibly in multiple waves of attacks.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in the week before Assad's fall, Israel attempted to broker a deal with the incoming Trump administration that would have allowed Russia to invest in Syria without impediment if Assad marginalized Iran. When Trump's team rejected this proposal, Moscow reportedly abandoned Assad, having grown tired of his leadership.

The drill involved Israeli F-35i and F-15i fighters flying alongside an American B-52 strategic bomber, presumably aimed at sending a message to Iran that Israel has regional backing against Tehran and its proxies. 

Iran's "Mehr" news agency reported the formation of a new organization pledging "to defend Syria from occupation." The move signals an Iranian effort to preserve its influence in the region.