Gaza has provoked outrage in the Muslim world , write Alex Vatanka and Mohammed Najib . Tehran is trying to build on the outrage , to gain influence by backing Hamas , they say . That is when Hamas chose to back the Syrian opposition against the Tehran-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad and thus left Iran 's orbit after nearly two-decades of Iranian patronage . This follows Iran 's backing of the al-Assad regime in Syria , while Hamas backs rebels . The two countries have been at odds for years over Iran's nuclear program, but this latest spat comes as Israel prepares a possible military strike against Iranian facilities if diplomacy fails.
Gaza has provoked outrage in the Muslim world , write Alex Vatanka and Mohammed Najib . Tehran is trying to build on the outrage , to gain influence by backing Hamas , they say . This follows Iran 's backing of the al-Assad regime in Syria , while Hamas backs rebels . The two countries have been at odds for years over Iran's nuclear program, but this latest spat comes as Israel prepares a possible military strike against Iranian facilities if diplomacy fails.