COLUMNS
Now or Never: Israel Makes Its Move Against Iran
![undefined and VP of Global Analysis](https://www.stratfor.com/sites/default/files/profiles/photos/Reva-Bhalla.jpg)
May 17, 2018 | 16:47 GMT
![In this photograph, Russian military police guard a road outside Damascus, Syria, after it reopened May 15, 2018.](https://worldview.stratfor.com/sites/default/files/styles/2x1_full/public/GettyImages-958791408.jpg?itok=00RyB4YU)
Russian military police guard a road outside Damascus, Syria, after it reopened May 15, 2018.
(LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)
Highlights
- An unusual set of circumstances is enabling Israel to scale up attacks against Iran in Syria and risk a broader confrontation in the process.
- As Israel raises the stakes in its conflict with Iran, it will look to lock in U.S. security commitments in the region for the long haul.
- The White House's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal is a long-shot bet on regime change at odds with U.S. attempts to reduce its military burden in the region.
- Russia's bark is often worse than its bite, but it will retain the clout to narrow the scope of U.S. and Israeli ambitions against Iran.