Debkafile reports on April 17 that Iranian Guard troops are massing in four Syrian air bases near Israel in an apparent preparation for a major attack from UAVs and perhaps by armed thrusts over the Syrian border.  President Trump wants to withdraw from Syria and is hoping to do so with only symbolic strikes.  However, Iran is using its Syrian ally to threaten major attacks against Israeli population centers.  Hezb'allah may attack from Lebanon, while Hamas may stage raids in the south.

Iran believes that it can now use Syria as a staging base, and while the U.S. wants to wind down the Syrian civil war, it appears that Putin has positioned himself as a deciding factor.  Putin now has an alliance with Turkey and Iran, and the large Egyptian army is hoping to stay out. 

This is the largest major war threat today.  Trump is making major progress with North Korea, which shares advanced weapons with Iran.  The U.S. does not want to be drawn more deeply into Syria, and its proposal for an Arab peacekeeping force is in trouble.  Iran has the only expressed motivation at attack Israel, which has been running decapitation strikes against Iranian Revolutionary guard troops in Syria. 

Israel has little territorial depth against attack and must therefore strike fast and with overwhelming force.  Israeli news outlets have been raising the idea of a multi-front war. 

With Putin in Iran and Syria, the United States is caught in a bind.  High-level talks with Iran and Russia may be needed to avert major war, which would give Putin unprecedented power in the region.  The question is whether Putin wants peace, or whether he wants trouble to create pressure on the U.S. 

This is a high-risk worry about major war.  Israel is worried about war because it can sustain a war for only a short time.  During that time, Israel may take the initiative and destroy invading forces and foreign bases.  The lack of defensive depth in Israel should also worry the world, because Israel will feel compelled to use nuclear weapons as soon as its population centers are attacked.  Its back will be against the wall, from the  Israelis' viewpoint, and they will do anything to prevent a second Holocaust.