As ISIS loses its grasp on Raqqa, Syria, and the dynamics of the Syrian civil war continue to play out, there is a developing struggle for influence among Russia and Iran, both of which are in Syria along with the U.S. Both are wary of the United States influence in the region. The U.S. has already shot down two Iranian drones and a Syrian aircraft in recent days. This has prompted a warning from Russia and is leading to a potential powder keg situation.
A recent article in Axios, stated that, “The competition {is} to control Syrian territory post-ISIS. The province in question, Deir al-Zour, boasts oil reserves and could serve as a land bridge to connect Iran to Syria, and eventually neighboring Lebanon, Hezbollah’s base. Russia just announced it will treat U.S. planes west of the Euphrates as targets, signaling it’s ready to stand with the regime against the U.S. after weeks of encouraging both to avoid clashing.”
There is no question that ISIS’ day are numbered in their defacto Capital, Raqqa. Iran has always been an ally and influencer of Syria and they are historically the main funder for the pro -Syrian and anti-Israeli terrorist group, Hezbollah. Russia has a tremendous amount of military hardware in Syria and has been their long time weapons supplier. Iran and Russia have strategic and economic aspirations in Syria and neither intends to give up their foothold after the fall of Raqqa and the end of the Syrian civil war, thus leading to this potential powder-keg. Read more