Operation Olive Branch, which the Turkish Armed Forces launched against members of the PKK/People's Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin, resulted in a reshuffling of the deck. In response, various players that are unhappy with Turkey's fight against the terrorists took steps to assist those groups. Stakeholders, who have been on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war, found themselves cooperating in Afrin. As such, the Turkish military operation established, yet again, that things were not immune to change in Syria.

The most significant diplomatic outcome of Operation Olive Branch was that Iran, the Assad regime and the United States ended up on the same side in Afrin. They all oppose the Turkish incursion, which was launched against a terrorist organization to neutralize national security threats, and, directly or indirectly, provide military assistance to the terrorists.

It is no secret that the U.S. has been cooperating with the PKK/YPG across Syria. Washington claims to support the group as part of the fight against Daesh and justifies sending 5,000 truckloads of weapons to PKK/YPG militants in the anti-Daesh campaign. Ironically, the U.S. continues to provide military assistance to the group, even though the Daesh threat in Syria has effectively ended. Therefore, it appears that Washington's relationship with the terrorists goes beyond the fight against Daesh. Moreover, U.S. officials are unsettled by Turkey's commitment to targeting PKK/YPG militants in Manbij and elsewhere, once Afrin is liberated. Although the U.S. has no military presence in Afrin, it has requested the Turks to keep their military operation limited.

Iran and the Assad regime, whose approach to the PKK/YPG had been cautious at best due to the links between that group and the United States, have stepped up their efforts in the wake of Operation Olive Branch. According to media reports, the regime held talks with the PKK/YPG last week yet failed to reach an agreement. In light of this development, Damascus refused to deploy troops to Afrin. Instead, terrorist groups linked to Iran and the Assad regime has been dispatched to Afrin in an attempt to assist the PKK/YPG. The initial convoy was forced to abort their mission due to Turkish shelling. A couple of days later, the Turkish military targeted another group of trucks loaded with weapons and ammunition.

To be clear, the said players have different interests and expectations. The U.S. made a misguided decision to limit its presence in Syria to the PKK/YPG. Therefore, it has been acting like the terrorist group's protector. It opposes Operation Olive Branch because Washington doesn't want the terrorists to be weakened. Iran, in turn, seeks to strengthen its influence north of Aleppo and desperately wants its forces, instead of the Turkish military, to control Afrin. Another important point is that Iran is unsettled by the de-escalation zone in Idlib. The Assad regime, which works with Iran, resists the operation because it believes that the Turks are becoming more active within Syrian territories.

Regardless of their reasons, the United States, Iran and the Assad regime find themselves on the same side of the current operation against the PKK/YPG in Afrin. In other words, Operation Olive Branch has served as a litmus test to reveal the true nature of the relationship between seeming enemies in Syria. This immoral alliance provides support to the PKK/YPG – even though Turkey has clearly stated that it has no interest in Syrian lands and it has no intention to backtrack on the current operation.