Professor Amatzia Baram: “Every blow to Iran is pure benefit to al-Sharaa’s regime.”By Vered Weiss, World Israel NewsWhen Israel began Operation Rising Lion on June 13, questions arose concerning why Syria allowed Israel to use its airspace for the operations.In addition, Syria remained silent during the operation and did not condemn Israeli strikes even though it has had an alliance with Iran.In a Ma’ariv interview, University of Haifa Professor Amatzia Baram stated that first of all, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa didn’t wish to contend with Israel’s air force, and secondly, he saw that the strikes on Iran could benefit Syria.“If I were in al-Sharaa’s place, I would tell my people that even if I could make it difficult for the Israel Air Force, I have no interest in doing so,” Baram said, explaining the new Syrian thinking. “I have an interest in the Israelis attacking Iran as much as possible.”Israel’s weakening of Iran through its strikes means that Damascus would benefit from the diminishment of its rival.“Every blow to Iran is pure benefit to al-Sharaa’s regime,” Baram explained, adding that Syria would not have confronted Israel even if it could do so.Another take on Syria’s silence and its allowing Israel to use its airspace is that its neutrality might have been pressured by its ally, Russia.Political analyst Samir Abdullah, a professor of international relations at Damascus University, told The Media Line that Syria was not in a position to fight with Israel, “Syria’s fragile economy and its deteriorated military capacity after more than a decade of civil war do notallow it to engage in any new political or military adventure, regardless of pressure from allies.”Although Syria also did not want to abandon its alliance with Iran, it remained neutral, influenced by Russia to avoid getting involved.A Western diplomatic source in Beirut, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Media Line that Russia was pressuring Syria to remain neutral.“Moscow has warned Damascus against overt involvement or allowing any party to openly use its territory against Israel, as this could lead to uncontrollable escalation and put Russia’s own military presence at risk,” the source said.In addition, Russia has a substantial military presence at the Hmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia province and wants to protect its own interests by keeping Syria out of the fray.The post Neutrality or Benefit? Why Syria allowed Israel to strike Iran from its airspace appeared first on World Israel News.