In a surprising twist in West Asia’s geopolitics, Syria, once Iran’s closest ally, allowed Israeli fighter jets to use its airspace to carry out multiple attacks on Iran, according to reports.
Over 12 days, Israeli warplanes flew through Syrian skies hundreds of times, launching heavy bombings on Iranian targets — and Syria did nothing to stop them.
Most countries in the region lack the military capability to detect or stop Israeli jets or missiles from entering their airspace. But Syria’s case is different. Experts say the new Syrian government intentionally left its skies open, giving Israel an easy route to Iran.
Until recently, Syria was ruled by Bashar al-Assad, a strong supporter of Iran. Under his leadership, Syria was a safe haven for Iran-backed militias, commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and intelligence officers. That’s why Israel regularly bombed Iranian positions inside Syria.
But after a recent regime change, the situation has completely changed. Now, Syria is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. With his government in power, Syria no longer supports Iran — in fact, it quietly helped Israel.
Experts believe the operation gave Syria’s new leadership two key insights about Israeli power. First, it showed Israel’s ability to fly missions nearly 2,000 km away and maintain constant air presence. Second, it revealed Israel’s high-level intelligence skills — being able to hit deep and with precision inside enemy territory.