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Thanks to the survival of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran has established a permanent position in Syria. From this position, Tehran spreads its influence in the eastern Mediterranean and assists other malevolent actors, such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

In a new essay, Israeli Middle East analyst Ehud Yaari cites these factors, among others, as proof that Israel is “the biggest loser�� of the Syrian Civil War. Yaari’s view diverges from the near consensus among members of the Israeli defense establishment, who routinely refer to Syria as a great success of what the Israelis call “the campaign between the wars.�� Targeted strikes and innovative intelligence work, the establishment argues, have prevented the Islamic Republic from turning Syria into a second Lebanon, which Iran could use as a major base for military operations against Israel. 

Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran will host Yaari and Zohar Palti, the former head of the Policy and Political-Military Bureau in Israel’s Ministry of Defense, to discuss Yaari’s views on Syria and Israel’s strategic situation more broadly.