Beirut: Ahed Bawadi took refuge in Bahrain with her sister and mother for more than a decade to escape the war.

‘Bahrainis had never experienced war. There was never a war there,’ she said. But, after the US and Israel attacked Iran, the situation changed. Iran launched a counterattack on Bahrain and other Gulf countries where US military infrastructure is located.

Bawadi’s family returned to their home in Aleppo, Syria. The city, which has been at war for a long time, is now calm.

Syria is one of the few peaceful places in West Asia. It has been ravaged by a brutal war for 14 years since 2010. Protesters ousted then-President Bashar al-Assad and formed a new government in December 2024. Since then, Syria has been working with Arab and Western nations to rebuild the country.

Syria is neutral in the US-Israeli war on Iran. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also opened up new opportunities for Syria.

‘Syria has presented itself as a solution to the strategic crisis in the West Asia region,’ said Syrian Foreign Ministry official Obeida Ghadban.

Iran has been blocking the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and gas passes, since the war began. In recent days, the US has also imposed a blockade on Iranian ports here. Which has further deepened the global energy crisis.

In this situation, Syria has emerged as an alternative transportation route for oil transportation. The oil is loaded onto trucks from Iraq and brought to Syria. It is unloaded at the Syrian port of Banias and loaded onto ships and sent to European markets.

A key border crossing between northern Iraq and Syria, closed for more than a decade, reopened last month. Syrian officials say the crossing will open a new route for energy exports.

Land routes are less efficient and more expensive than waterways for transporting goods. But it could provide an alternative as long as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remains in place.

Ghadban said his country would not take sides. "Those involved in this war are the enemies of Syria. Whether it's Iran and its allies or Israel, which has an expansionist approach to Syria," he said. "Both sides want to weaken Syria."

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sarraj has said Syria will not be involved in any regional conflict. He said Syria was exhausted by its 14-year civil war.

Noah Bonsey, a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group on Syria, said Syria had been clear about its non-involvement in the war since it began.  "There are still a few American infrastructures and some troops deployed," Bosni said. "If there were as many as before, Iran would be at risk of an attack." Bosni said that while Syria benefited politically from remaining neutral, the conflict has also had an economic impact. Syria had been trying to attract investment from wealthy Gulf countries to rebuild its country. But now, these countries are the ones being ravaged by war. "They are thinking about their own security and economic stability rather than investing abroad," Bosni said. Syria has prepared some long-term infrastructure projects. A proposal has been made to build a rail line and a gas pipeline. This would connect the Gulf region via Syria to Turkey and the European market. But all of these projects will take years to complete.