More than eight years after the start of the civil war in Syria, the fate of the country is expected to be decided as a result of developments in two strategic regions, namely Idlib and the area east of the Euphrates River.

On Aug. 19, it was announced that the Syrian army had forced the rebels to withdraw from the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the military operation in the area, saying Moscow supports the Syrian army’s efforts to “neutralize the terrorist threats” in Idlib.

The Syrian government’s other major ally, Iran, however, has been quite silent regarding the developments in Syria’s northwest. In fact, the last time a high-ranking Iranian official took a position on Idlib was April 16, when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran has “serious concerns” over the situation in Idlib. Also, since the beginning of the Idlib operation in April, no major presence of Iranian or pro-Iran forces has been reported in the area.

As for the situation in the east of the Euphrates, after months of controversy between Turkey and the United States over the establishment of a “safe zone” along Syria’s northern borders with Turkey, the two sides reached an agreement Aug. 7 to set up an operations center as a first step toward establishing Ankara’s desired buffer area. The agreement came after the Turkish government’s repeated warnings that it would act unilaterally to address its security concerns in Syria should Washington fail to offer an acceptable joint solution.