“..Iran so peeved over Syria that they join with Russia and swoop after Israel..”
Russia swoop after Israel? You made my day:-).Russia don’t have any serious problems with Israel but do fear Iran to some extend.” enemy of my enemy is my friend” doesn’t work in this case because Russians know very well that some day Iranians (not Israelis) may turn nukes against Russia.
Do you really think Putin gives a hoot about any ME nation itself or it's leaders apart from how they can benifit him?..... He plays them like a violin...... He understands the Sauds and Iranian leadership dynamics very well and that they are at war with each other to ultimately control the ME....
Further, the Jihadists in all the ME countries are positioned by them both any time there are protests in which they can sabotage those efforts....and they do. It is an easy thing to understand why the Sauds would finance the US taking down Assad....they already have in place the administration they intend to place there after Assad falls.....the race on who gets Syria is on. Same thing happened in Egypt...the game players do not change...they simply shift the "visible " players.