A poster showing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad hangs on a wall in a damaged room inside National Hospital after explosions hit the Syrian city of Jableh, May 23, 2016. Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Nader Hashemi is an associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics and director of the Center for Middle East Studies in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. On Twitter: @naderalihashemi.