It's now widely known that Iran, Hezbollah and other Shia factions asked Assad for permission to open a front in the Golan Heights after October 7th to support the resistance in Gaza & Lebanon.
However, Assad refused, reportedly saying he did not want to drag Syria into a possible open confrontation with Israel & he did not want to risk jeopardizing his normalization progress with the Gulf States.
It is most likely the plan to step aside was hashed out months ago when he visited Russia, and was used as a part of a bigger negotiation. This to me signifies the beginning of something big coming, new world order type event..
"A prince is respected when he is a true friend and a true enemy; that is, when he declares himself on the side of one prince against another without any reservation."
- Niccolo Machiavelli
