Fenethylline

December 31, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Jordan carries out airstrikes in Syria against drug smugglers

The Kingdom of Jordan conducted airstrikes in Syria that targeted drug smugglers between December 23 and 25. The strikes came days after reports at the Jordan News Agency, a state media...

December 4, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Preventing Violence in Southern Syria Depends on Damascus and Jerusalem Reaching an Agreement

“Israel must maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria,” President Donald Trump said on December 1, amid rising tensions between the two countries. On November 27, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)...

September 3, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syria Is No Longer a Narco-State, But the Captagon Trade Rolls On

Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa pledged to dismantle his country’s massive illegal drug trade when he took power in December, but the dangerous amphetamine captagon is still flowing. On September...

August 12, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Assad Is Gone. The Syrian Problem Persists

Nine months after Bashar al-Assad’s fall and Ahmad al-Sharaa’s rise to power, the UN Security Council met to address Syria’s ongoing crisis. The Council urged Damascus to establish a government “of...

August 2, 2025 | Natalie Ecanow, Bridget Toomey

The Houthis Are Breaking into the Drug Trade

The captagon trade has spread from Syria to Yemen, bankrolling Houthi terrorism. Washington should pay attention.

July 17, 2025 | Natalie Ecanow, Ahmad Sharawi

Assad’s Narco-Trade Lives on in Lebanon

The Lebanese Army busted a major narcotics factory. On July 13, Lebanese forces raided a facility in Baalbek used to produce the synthetic, amphetamine-like drug captagon. The army dismantled approximately...

May 16, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Trump presses Sharaa on foreign fighters as jihadists rise in Syria’s new army

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump held talks with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a designated terrorist by both the US and the United Nations and the former head of Syria’s...

March 20, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Profiles of commanders in the new Syrian army’s regional divisions

On January 29, Syria’s new leadership announced the dissolution of the Assad regime’s Syrian Arab Army and launched a unification process to integrate various armed militias into a single national...

February 19, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Profiles of foreign commanders in the new Syrian army

The new Syrian administration has announced the disbandment of the Bashar al Assad regime’s Syrian Arab Army and confirmed the integration of multiple rebel groups into a unified military under...

February 11, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syria’s crackdown on smuggling sparks tensions with Hezbollah and Lebanon

The border between Lebanon and Syria has witnessed intense clashes in recent days as the newly formed Syrian army deployed reinforcements to Al Qusayr in the western Homs Governorate.

February 3, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Assad Is Gone, Syria’s Captagon Trade Isn’t

Despite its statements vowing to clean up the country, Syria’s new government is unlikely to tackle the profitable narcotics trade.

December 16, 2024 | Natalie Ecanow, Ahmad Sharawi

A new window into the Assad regime’s narcotrafficking operations

In the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, footage began circulating that allegedly showed production hubs in Syria for the amphetamine-like drug fenethylline, now commonly known by one of its former brand...

December 14, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Southern Syria’s resurgence brings Jordan and Iraq back in key roles

Jordan seeks to ensure regional security and stability, including in Syria, including by involving the international community in these prospects.

December 3, 2024 | Jonathan Schanzer, David Adesnik, Bill Roggio, Joe Dougherty

What’s next for Syria? Assad, Jihadist terrorist groups, and chemical weapons

November 14, 2024 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Lebanon Ceasefire Talks: Beware of Trusting Russia to Restrain Hezbollah

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, on Monday questioned the enforceability of a ceasefire with Hezbollah but suggested that Russia might help by blocking smuggled arms from Syria. Yet trusting Moscow...

October 18, 2024 | Natalie Ecanow, Ahmad Sharawi

Treasury Targets Hezbollah Financiers, Syrian Narcotraffickers with Fresh Sanctions

The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday against a Hezbollah financing network and three individuals who generate revenue for Hezbollah by trafficking illicit narcotics. As hostilities escalate...

October 1, 2024 | David Daoud |

Hezbollah c’est moi: The Party of God without Hassan Nasrallah

On September 27, the unimaginable happened. At approximately 5:22 p.m. local time, reports emerged of a massive Israeli strike on the predominantly Shia southern suburbs of Beirut, known colloquially as...

September 8, 2024 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Terror threat on Israel expands beyond Gaza, West Bank into Jordan

The recent terror attack on the 8th of September comes as part of the ongoing smuggling of weaponry and drugs to the West Bank since October 7th.

June 24, 2024 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Iran-affiliated cell reportedly found storing explosives in Jordan’s capital

The Jordanian Public Security Directorate announced on June 22 that security forces are handling an investigative case in the South Marka area of the capital, Amman, according to the official...

June 12, 2024 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Jordanian authorities thwart major drug smuggling operation linked to Iran-backed militias

Jordanian authorities successfully thwarted a significant drug smuggling operation, arresting members of two groups linked to regional drug smuggling networks. The Jordanian Public Security Directorate stated that...