The Christian Science Monitor

As Israel, Iran square off in Syria, can Russia play peacemaker?

The homemade video shows a peaceful scene of skiers coasting down a shimmering snow-covered trail on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon, a towering range that straddles the borders of Syria, Lebanon, and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Suddenly, the camera catches the smoke trails of a pair of Israel’s Iron Dome missiles launching from just below the ski area. The missiles streak across the blue sky to intercept an Iranian surface-to-surface missile fired in retaliation for a pre-dawn Israeli strike on targets near Damascus.

The Jan. 20 footage was a surreal reminder of how Israel and Iran appear to be inching dangerously toward a larger clash over Iran’s

A Russian balancing actIranian and Israeli signalingA role for Europe?

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor5 min readWorld
‘Divest From Israel’: Easy Slogan, Challenging For Universities
“Disclose. Divest.”  The rallying cry, echoing on many large campuses in the United States in recent weeks, represents a powerful new voice in a two-decade international movement to protest Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories through econo
The Christian Science Monitor4 min readWorld
Building Takeovers Push Campus Protests Into Volatile New Phase
The protest movement roiling college campuses across the United States appeared to enter a more dangerous phase Tuesday, as student demonstrators who had barricaded themselves inside a hall at Columbia University were arrested overnight by police in
The Christian Science Monitor2 min read
Trust Flows On A River Undammed
Earlier this week, the state of California stuck a shovel in the third of four hydroelectric dams being demolished on the Klamath River, which wends its way through Northern California from Oregon to the Pacific. Removing those structures is the firs

Related Books & Audiobooks