Damascus

October 9, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Syria increases criticism of Israeli actions, continues diplomatic outreach

Syria sharpened its criticism of Israeli military operations in Syria during the first week of October, including the construction of a new fortified security line in southern Syria, east of the Israeli-occupied...

October 2, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Syria faces infrastructure sabotage, Islamic State activity amid utility shortages

On October 2, the Syrian Petroleum Company said it restored a gas pipeline near Deir Ezzor after the line had been sabotaged. “The company said on Telegram that crews replaced an 18-meter section of...

October 1, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Hezbollah’s Shadow Economy in Post-Assad Syria

September 30, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

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”...

September 17, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Benjamin Acosta

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.

September 17, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi, Justin Leopold-Cohen

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...

September 16, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

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...

September 15, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syria’s Fuel Protests Expose the Limits of Its Economic Recovery

“We don’t want new roundabouts or malls. We just want to live.” That was the message from one protester in Aleppo as demonstrations over soaring fuel prices spread across Syria on September...

September 14, 2026 | Andrea Stricker |

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...

September 10, 2026 | Janatan Sayeh |

U.S. Sanctions on Iranian Aviation Should Be Followed by Operational Isolation

Washington first tightened the chokehold on Tehran at sea and is now extending it to the skies. On September 8, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned all 27 remaining active Iranian airlines...

September 7, 2026 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

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...

September 3, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

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...

September 2, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi |

Ankara Is Baiting Israel, Not the Reverse

Turkey invokes a Syrian sovereignty it spent a decade dismantling. Washington should not buy it.

September 1, 2026 | Tzvi Kahn |

Trump Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: September

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September 1, 2026 | Caleb Weiss |

Top Islamic State spokesman killed in Yemen

The internationally recognized government in Yemen based in the southern city of Aden announced today that its troops, alongside Saudi special operations forces, killed Abu Hudhayfah al Ansari,...

August 26, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Ahmad Sharawi

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...

August 26, 2026 | Andrea Stricker, Ahmad Sharawi

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...

August 26, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announce its dissolution

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US counterterrorism partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), announced on August 25 the dissolution of...

August 25, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

US rescinds Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism

On August 24, the US rescinded Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. “I congratulate the Syrian people on the official removal of Syria’s name from the list of state sponsors...

August 24, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

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...