Israeli officials were breathing a sigh of relief Monday following the conference in Paris on Sunday which ended with a statement much less harshly critical of Israel than what had been anticipated. Additionally, US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after the statement to tell him that the US will resist efforts to include even the watered down statement as part of any action taken by the UN Security Council when it meets on Tuesday.

Experts and government officials in Iran are reportedly voicing increased concerns over the possible direction incoming US President Donald Trump will take in his dealings with the Islamic Republic and its renegade nuclear program. “Some of the people who are taking office in the executive branch have a long history of being against Iran,” said Foad Izadi, a professor of international studies at Tehran University. “We are going to see a harsher policy towards Iran during the Trump administration.”

Russian news outlets reported over the weekend that Moscow is looking to reinforce its military presence in Syria even if the multi-faceted civil war in that country begins to wind down. Prospects for this seemed remote on Sunday as clashes between rebel factions and the Assad regime, along with allied militias including the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah, engaged in fierce combat Sunday in the Wadi Barada region close to Damascus, where most of the infrastructure for pumping water into the city is located.

In a sign of the deteriorating political situation in Jordan, King Abdullah reshuffled his cabinet on Sunday amidst increasing signs that the Islamic State (IS) terror militia is seeping into the country. Economic growth also continues to be sluggish and unemployment is hovering at historic highs even as the Army and security services have reported a spike in crime, unrest and terrorist activity.

Even as Israeli and Palestinian leaders continue to spar at the UN and other international forums, Maj.-Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai, commander of all IDF operations in the West Bank, sat with Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh quietly met on Sunday to renew cooperation on water-related issues. Both Jewish and Palestinian populations in the West Bank are grappling with water shortages, particularly in the summer months.

President Barack Obama has eroded the US’s superpower status and is leaving behind a far more dangerous world than the one he inherited. A Trump administration gives Israel reason to be optimistic, although it must bear in mind that he is a very shrewd businessman.

In September 2015, Russia intervened militarily in Syria in support of the Syrian government. Over the next 15 months, Russia bolstered the Assad government in its efforts to retake large portions of the country and targeted Assad’s adversaries, often with considerable civilian cost. What can be learned from over a year of conflict?