The Syrian government released hundreds of political prisoners from jails on Wednesday. The decision was President Bashar Assad’s latest attempt to blunt the effect of the growing number of protests in parts of Syria. Up to 10,000 people whom Syrian activists say have been rounded up by government forces since the onset of protests may also soon be released. Is this a sign of a future major political realignment?

Additionally this week, pictures of a 13-year-old boy whose apparent torture and mutilation by government officials was broadcast by Al-Jazeera inflamed people across the country. The death of the boy has turned him into a martyr-type figure that many “repressed” groups seem to be rallying around.

The government has since announced an investigation into the boy’s death, as well as the creation of a committee to prepare the groundwork for more political freedom for various groups to express their viewpoints. Critics say it is too little, too late.

Syria had seen comparatively little unrest before last week, even as waves of protests swept the Middle East. However, that has now “changed dramatically,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Violent confrontations erupted between protesters and government forces—even in the capital city of Damascus—after the government initiated a wave of arrests across cities in the southern hotbed of unrest.

Not long ago, protests in Damascus would have been considered “unthinkable” due to Assad’s perceived unshakable grip on security.

The protests may soon lead to major regional repercussions, but not the ones most analysts are expecting. Syria is currently an Iranian ally and a tool for Iran to maintain influence in the Middle East. If Assad really is embracing political reform that would include an eventual power-sharing structure with repressed groups (like the Kurds), it could have a direct bearing on Syria’s regional allegiances.

But perhaps the force exerting the greatest impetus for a geopolitical realignment of Syria may be the Muslim Brotherhood. Reports say this is the group largely behind the protests. The Muslim Brotherhood is the same organization that in Egypt so strongly supported the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak—and that Iran is now working to further empower in Egypt. This cannot sit well with Assad—even if Iran is supposedly providing Syria with aid to suppress the protesters.

Earlier this week it was revealed that the terrorist organization Hamas, which is also linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, was moving its command and control headquarters from Syria to Egypt. This may be another sign that Syria is becoming less friendly with Iran-influenced organizations.

What we are seeing in Syria may be the fist signs of a split coming between Damascus and Tehran.

This is exactly what we should expect, according to biblical prophecy. Psalm 83 outlines an alliance of Arab nations that band together with the goal of destroying Israel. This is an alliance that has never occurred in history. This group of nations makes a peace deal with an invading European power (termed the king of the north in Daniel 11 and Assur in Psalm 83) to avoid occupation. Syria is part of this prophesied alliance of Arab nations.

The nations of Iran, Libya, Egypt and Ethiopia are not part of this Psalm 83 alliance. These nations, led by Iran and mentioned in other prophecies (for example, Daniel 11:42-43), are the target of the invading European power.

This means that Syria will not long stay in the pro-Iran camp. A major shift in Syrian foreign policy will occur in the near future. Unfortunately for the United States and Israel, the shift will just be changing allegiance from one radical camp to another. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the May/June edition of the Trumpet, the Psalm 83 nations “have what appears to be an even deeper hatred” of Israel than does Iran.

For Iran, the protests in Syria are a harbinger that, despite gains in Egypt and Libya, it will soon lose its most important and dependable regional ally.

For more information on the Psalm 83 alliance and why it is a prophecy for the near future, read “A Mysterious Prophecy” by Gerald Flurry.