Ahmed al-Sharaa

Don’t Invite Syria Back Into Lebanon

Washington is contemplating the one thing that could rally Lebanese around Hezbollah.

U.S. Must Apply Strict Conditions Before Lifting Syria’s Terrorism Designation

“The lifting of sanctions is the primary step toward revitalizing the Syrian economy,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa told President Donald Trump during a phone call on May 31.  In...

US Syria Envoy Barrack tapped for Syria and Iraq role

On May 31, President Donald Trump said he was naming US Ambassador Tom Barrack as special presidential envoy to Syria and Iraq. The announcement came a day after it had appeared that Barrack’s role as...

Can Syria Be Friends with Both Europe and Russia?

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has sought to open up relations with Europe while retaining the country’s longstanding ties with Moscow.

Political Exclusion of Syrian Kurds Threatens SDF-Damascus Deal

A dispute over Kurdish political representation and cultural rights is emerging as the primary fault line in the Syrian government’s process of integration with the Kurdish-run semi-autonomous region...

Amid security threats, Syria attempts to cement stability, international ties

On May 19, a car bomb exploded near a Ministry of Defense building in central Damascus’s Bab Sharqi area. One Syrian soldier was killed, and 23 civilians were wounded, the official Syrian Arab...

Syria’s Accommodation of Foreign Jihadists Backfires

The Syrian government’s effort to integrate foreign fighters into its armed forces may be unraveling. On May 5, Syrian authorities arrested 16 Uzbek fighters following a standoff with armed members...

Syria’s First Trial of Assad-Era Figure Signals Progress, but Accountability Still Falls Short

The first public trial of officials associated with former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime opened in Damascus on April 26. The defendant is Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and former head of the intelligence...

Israel and Syria’s Shared Fight Against Hezbollah

Washington should help the two estranged neighbors cooperate against a common enemy.

America’s Ambassador to Turkey Is Undermining U.S. Interests

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack raised eyebrows last weekend at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum when he stated, “Turkey is not a country to be messed with,” –– a remark intended to blame Israel...

Sharaa’s Gulf Tour Is All About the Economy

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited three Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — over two days beginning on April 21. The Syrian presidency described the trip in broad...

Syrian president meets Syrian Democratic Forces leader to discuss next phase of integration

Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa met with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi in Damascus on April 16. The meeting came two and a half months after an agreement between...

Syria focuses on diplomacy amid Iran war

On April 9, Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan al Shaibani traveled to Turkey, where he met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. It was Damascus’s second meeting with...

Islamist Turkey: A Base for Muslim Brotherhood Jihadism

Syria Can Squeeze Hezbollah, But Caution Is Necessary

Syrian forces may be returning to Lebanon more than twenty years after Damascus withdrew its military from its smaller neighbor’s territory. Reuters reported on March 17 that the...

Is the Islamic Republic Down and Out in the Levant and Beyond?

Since October 7, 2023, Iran’s theocracy has watched its entire westward foreign policy crash, disabled by an Israeli counterattack and its shockwaves.

Beware Turkey’s ambitions in the post-Iran power vacuum

The US military and the Israeli Defense Forces continue unleashing their might on the Iranian regime — and precise intelligence, overwhelming firepower and a bit of good luck could soon usher...

The Mass Escape of ISIS Detainees Is a Warning Against U.S. Withdrawal From Syria

Serious concerns are emerging over the ability of the Syrian government to maintain security in the northeast of the country following its recent offensive against the Kurdish-led, U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic...

ISIS Reconstitutes as the U.S. Walks Away From Syria

After surviving numerous Islamic State (ISIS)-linked assassination plots, Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa — himself a former jihadi — governs with a target on his back. Moreover, ISIS is resurging...

Syrian Troops Take Over Key Syria Base After U.S. Withdrawal

Latest Developments Al-Tanf Withdrawal: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on February 12 that U.S. forces had completed the “orderly withdrawal” from the al-Tanf base in northeastern Syria....