Israel seems to be preparing itself for the collapse of the Assad regime.

For now, Israel’s biggest concern about the possible fall of Assad seems to be the fate of Syria’s chemical weapons. According to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel is cooperating with the US and international community on this issue. But when Assad falls, his regime’s chemical weapons will not be the only possible threat to the State of Israel.

In the case of a Syrian civil war, Iran is likely to do its utmost to bleed Israel diplomatically, economically and militarily by drawing it into a long guerrilla war in Syria. Tehran was hoping that this would happen during the recent conflict in Gaza, but was disappointed when the war only lasted eight days.

Hasan Hanizadeh, a Tehran-based strategic-affairs analyst, recently told the Associated Press that "Iran is concerned about the power of pro-Saudi forces if Assad is brought down." Hanizadeh believes that as a result, “Iran is trying to organize other groups in Syria as alternatives, just in case." Part of this organization is likely to include setting up weapons caches inside Syria which can also be used against Israeli targets.