The story: The Syrian city of Aleppo has fallen to Sunni militants for the first time since 2016 after a lightning offensive. Iran has reacted by moving to rally support for Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is currently on a regional tour of Damascus and Ankara. At the same time, Iran does not seem to be in a rush to significantly expand its direct military presence—possibly to remind Assad that he owes his rule to Tehran’s intervention a decade ago.

The coverage: The Sunni Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a major offensive on Nov. 27 to seize...