Iran

The 'strategic partnership' signing could have been timed to send a message, but a deeper examination reveals it to be a pragmatic alliance borne of a shared enemy rather than shared interests

While financial obligations outlive regimes, Damascus may be able to show that some of the $7.6bn in loans from Tehran was spent repressing the Syrian people—and that Iran knew about it

The incoming US president might very well reach a deal with Tehran, but it will likely be a bumpy road until then

Key regional powers—Türkiye, Egypt, Iran—do not see eye to eye over what transpired in Syria. One emerges as a winner, the other a loser, and Syria's new Islamist-leaning leaders unsettle the third.

Trump is unlikely to join an Israeli foray into Iraq, but he may decide to withhold the $250mn annual military assistance to Baghdad as a way to pressure the government to rein in its militias

Sources of cash are drying up as front companies and drug production lines are dismantled and supply networks and smuggling routes are compromised. Iran is also questioning its funding of the group.

Assad's fall means Iran loses its contiguous land corridor. Without it, 'Axis of Resistance' forces will find it difficult to work together. Meanwhile, Iran's ally, Russia, looks to be on its way out.

If it's not careful, Tehran could soon experience what their Syrian client just did: the sudden implosion of a rotten regime