Damascus and Tehran Face Hurdles to Restoring Relations

Differences between Syria and Iran remain an obstacle to normalising ties, with analysts pointing to contrasting priorities in Damascus and Tehran.

For Iran, allowing the rupture with Syria to continue would run counter to its interests. That gives Tehran an incentive to seek a way to restore relations.

Damascus, however, is making any rapprochement conditional on a review of Iran’s previous role in Syria. Its position places the legacy of that involvement at the centre of the question of renewed ties.

Syria also insists on respect for its sovereignty, setting a clear condition for how a future relationship with Iran would be defined.

The gap between Tehran’s interest in ending the estrangement and Damascus’s demands leaves the prospects for normalisation uncertain. Any progress would depend on addressing those differences, rather than simply reopening contact.