Bashar al-Assad

Hezbollah’s Shadow Economy in Post-Assad Syria

Syria says it thwarted Hezbollah plot; Israel likely target

On September 29, Syria’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced that the agency, in coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate, had “thwarted a sabotage plot in the Yarmouk Basin in Daraa”...

Two Years After Nasrallah’s Death, Hezbollah Is Outsourcing its Survival and Revival

Two years after Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah finds itself commemorating its dead leader from a weaker position. Israel has killed thousands of Hezbollah...

Islamic State suspects extradited or arrested in Lebanon, Canada, Australia, and the US

On September 23, media reports emerged that Lebanese Army Intelligence had arrested a suspected Islamic State member in northern Lebanon after placing him under surveillance. During questioning, the individual...

The Three Quiet Victors of the Iran War

Turkey, Pakistan, and Qatar have played their hands well since February 28, without disrupting their relations with either the United States or Iran.

Syria’s military is rebuilding, but foreign influence may slow security progress

Foreign influence in the Syrian military, chiefly Turkish and Russian, combined with the continued presence of extremist elements within its ranks, will constrain Damascus’s ability to take steps consistent...

The Heart Attacks Fueling Suspicion in Syria

When a commander in the Syrian army’s 52nd Division died in March, a Syrian Telegram channel announced the news in the language of an ordinary obituary: Nader Mutlaq, better known as Abu Hatem...

Is Hezbollah finished, or just adapting?

IAEA Ends Syria’s Nuclear Noncompliance Finding

A unanimous vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Board of Governors on September 9 formally ended consideration of Syria’s nuclear noncompliance.  The decision followed cooperation by...

Hezbollah Has Lost. Now It Must Admit It

Let us, for a moment, entertain a thought experiment. What if Hezbollah had gotten its political way? Imagine that in late 2024, after Hezbollah’s resounding military defeat, Lebanon’s Parliament had...

Syria Is Off the Terror List, but Washington Still Has Leverage

US President Donald Trump has fulfilled the promise he made to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in May 2025, to give Syrians “a chance at greatness.” At the end of August of this year, Trump...

Saying Goodbye to the Syrian Democratic Forces

During the fight against ISIS, the SDF proved that the Kurds were useful allies to the United States. Now they may prove equally useful to the new Syrian government.

5 Things To Know About Turkey’s Relationship with Syria

Turkey has emerged as one of the leading patrons of Syria’s new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, following the December 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Ankara had built ties with...

Turning a Page on Syria’s Proliferation Past

“We are now turning a page … Turning a page does not mean forgetting the past; it means just the opposite — which is confronting it, confronting it with eyes wide open,” declared Rafael...

Syria-Israel Talks Will Face a Turkish Test

Syria and Israel are back at the negotiating table after a seven-month pause in talks over a potential security agreement. On August 23, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with Mossad Director...

Israel Is Drawing the Line Against Turkey in Syria

For the first time since March, Israeli jets struck deep inside Syria on August 18, targeting the Abu Duhur airbase in Idlib governorate, roughly 70 kilometers south of the Turkish border. According to...

Israel strikes military airbase in Syria while warning Turkey

Israel conducted airstrikes on the Abu al Duhur military airport in northern Syria during the evening of August 17–18. Syria condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty,...

Syria Agrees To Turn Over Assad-Era Nuclear Material

Syria has reportedly agreed to turn over nuclear material — remnants of the Assad regime’s clandestine nuclear program — to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under a U.S.-brokered deal. According...

In Syria, Selective Prosecution of War Crimes Fosters Disunity

For nearly a quarter-century, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad presided over a repressive system that tortured and killed Syrians with little expectation that he would ever answer for its crimes. That...

Pragmatism Could Draw Syria and Hezbollah Into an Accommodation

During the Syrian civil war, Hezbollah spent years fighting the factions now ruling Damascus. Now, even as Damascus intercepts the group’s weapons and disrupts its supply routes, Hezbollah’s Secretary...