Baniyas

Syria’s Break With Russia Must Go Beyond Oil

Syria’s current leaders and Russia once stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Yet since the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Moscow’s longtime ally during the Syrian civil...

Syria focuses on energy deals, works to revive infrastructure and institutions

Syria is positioning itself as an alternative route for oil exports from Iraq amid the Iran conflict and its disruption of oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz. On July 17 in Washington, DC,...

Syria intercepts advanced weapons bound for Hezbollah from Iraq

On July 16, Syria’s Ministry of Interior announced that it had foiled an “attempt to smuggle a large shipment of sophisticated weapons across the Syrian-Iraqi border.” The ministry said...

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi meets US envoy amid militia pressure

US Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi on June 15 to discuss strengthening ties between Baghdad and Washington. The meeting comes as the US continues...

Post-Assad Syria Is Mending Fences With Russia

The new Syrian leadership has signaled openness to the West and has even demonstrated cooperation with Ukraine — Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in April....

Iraq Is Envisioning New Oil Pipelines — But They Are Likely a Pipe Dream

Iraq’s reliance on oil exports through the now-closed Strait of Hormuz may spell financial disaster for Baghdad, which has limited options to avert a crisis. More than 94 percent of Iraq’s oil exports...

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...

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...

Israel’s Bashan Arrow operation in Syria continues

As the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad was collapsing on December 8, Israel set in motion a contingency plan that anticipated the situation. In recent weeks, the military intelligence...

Police Arrest Captain of Syria-Bound Iranian Tanker

Gibraltar police arrested the captain and chief officer yesterday of an Iranian supertanker, the...

British Warship Foils Iranian Attempt to Take Oil Tanker Hostage

The frigate HMS Montrose trained its guns on three I...

Burning Bridge: The Iranian Land Corridor to the Mediterranean

Assad Survives Thanks to Iranian Oil—and Egyptian Consent

Sanctions have stopped Tehran from selling its crude, but not from giving it to the Syrian dictator.

Iranian Tankers Relieve Pressure of Oil Sanctions on Assad

For the second time this month, an Iranian tanker has delivered nearly a million barrels of crude oil to Syria, relieving the...

U.S. Intensifies Campaign against Syrian Maritime Sanctions Busting

The U.S. Department of the Treasury added 32 ships on Monday to its public list of vessels engaged in the illicit delivery of oil to t...

Fuel Shortage Persists in Syria amidst Tougher Sanctions Enforcement

The Bashar al-Assad regime has proven unable to remedy pervasive...

Another Massacre in Syria, Hundreds Reportedly Dead

The Syrian regime has reportedly perpetrated another episode of...

Total Collapse

A number of recent articles make the case that...

A Spreading Revolt in Syria

Is Assad losing his grip?