Haian Dukhan, a leading expert on Syria’s tribal dynamics, unpacks the stakes in the latest surge of violence between Sunni Bedouin tribes and the Druze minority in Suwayda.

Retaining tribal support is essential for the country’s post-Assad regime. The government’s failure to quell clashes that have left more than 1,000 people dead has ignited Sunni anger and emboldened the Kurdish minority, which has forged its own Sunni tribal alliances.

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On July 11, a group of PKK fighters burned their weapons in a ceremony marking the end of their forty-year-long armed campaign against the Kurdish state. Aliza Marcus, a leading expert on the militant group, says it is too early to determine whether the PKK will abandon armed struggle completely and that much depends on what steps Ankara is prepared to take to meet Kurdish demands.

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Professor Mohsen Milani, the author of the recently published, "Iran's Rise and Rivalry with the U.S. in the Middle East," explains that airpower alone cannot dislodge Iran's clerical regime. With Iran capable of relaunching its nuclear program, the risk of further Israeli attacks is real. The outcome would likely be regional chaos.

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