Syria

January 22, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi, Bridget Toomey

Transfer of ISIS Prisoners To Iraq Exposes Fragile Nature of Ceasefire in Syria

As northeastern Syria reels from the Syrian government’s offensive into areas held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), detained Islamic State (ISIS) fighters are being transferred to Iraq...

January 22, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Over the Barrel of a Gun: Syria’s Deal With the SDF

“Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin, beware of believing claims that we seek harm against you,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in a televised address on January 16 to Syria’s...

January 21, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

US withdraws from Iraqi airbase, transfers Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq

US forces left Iraq’s Ain al Assad Airbase in Iraq’s Al Anbar Governorate, according to Iraq’s Defense Ministry, CNN reported on January 19. The redeployment of forces away from the large...

January 20, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syrian Offensive Against Kurdish-Led SDF Risks Escape of ISIS Prisoners

The ongoing conflict between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) risks unleashing tens of thousands of ISIS-linked detainees, reviving a threat that the United States and the SDF...

January 19, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Fate of prisons holding Islamic State fighters uncertain as Syrian government fights Syrian Democratic Forces

Syrian government forces advancing into eastern Syria and combating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are increasingly taking over areas where Islamic State (IS) members have been held in prisons and...

January 17, 2026 | Bill Roggio |

US airstrike kills Al Qaeda leader in Syria

The US military killed an Al Qaeda leader who was involved in the December 13, 2025, attack that killed two US soldiers and a civilian contractor in Syria. US Central Command (CENTCOM) maintains that the...

January 16, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces withdraw from Aleppo province after clashes with Syrian government

In the wake of intense fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi ordered the withdrawal of his personnel from contested areas...

January 16, 2026 | Jacob Nagel |

Trump’s hesitation on Iran: Why a prompt strike, even if only symbolic, is crucial

The world, including Israel, went to sleep a few days ago with the understanding and expectation of a significant American strike on Iran, following the brutal suppression of protests, the indiscriminate...

January 16, 2026 | Janatan Sayeh |

The Islamic Republic Kills, Europe Does Nothing

The EU and European nations — purely symbolically — called Iranian ambassadors on January 13 to account for the Islamic Republic’s mass killing of as many as 12,000 unarmed demonstrators, even as...

January 16, 2026 | |

Damascus Poised To Attack Kurdish-Held Towns in Northern Syria

Syrian Troops Ready Offensive on Kurdish-Held Areas: Syrian government troops are preparing to launch an offensive against Kurdish-held towns in the north and east of the country...

January 15, 2026 | David Daoud |

Lebanon’s Own Laws Require Disarming Muslim Brotherhood Branch Designated by U.S. as Terror Group

The United States took aim at Islamic Group (IG), the Muslim Brotherhood’s Lebanese branch on January 13. The U.S. State Department designated IG as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and designated...

January 13, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Don’t make the mistake Obama did, Mr. President, enforce your Iran ‘red line’

The last time a US president drew a “red line” and refused to enforce it, thousands of Syrians paid the price. Barack Obama’s 2012 failure to enforce his red line against the use of chemical...

January 13, 2026 | |

‘Help Is on Its Way’: Trump Urges Iranians To Maintain Protest Momentum After Thousands Killed in Demonstrations

Trump Backs Iranian Protests: President Donald Trump issued a new statement of support for Iranian protestors on January 13, urging the demonstrators to “Keep protesting” and...

January 13, 2026 | Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus |

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland sends warning to Turkey, Iran, Syria

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland has sent shockwaves through the region and chills down the spines of authoritarian leaders

January 13, 2026 | Mark Dubowitz |

Iran’s Islamic rulers are teetering on collapse. Trump must give them a final shove.

For years, policymakers and analysts have obsessed over how the Islamic Republic of Iran might fall. Far less attention has been paid to the more important question: whether it should. To...

January 12, 2026 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

After Khamanei: What the Fall of Iran’s Regime Would Mean for the Region

The fall of Iran’s Islamist regime would mark one of the most seismic shifts in Middle Eastern geopolitics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought it to power. As massive protests grip the...

January 11, 2026 | Bill Roggio |

US military strikes Islamic State in Syria

The US military launched a series of “large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS [Islamic State] targets across Syria,” on January 10, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced. CENTCOM said...

January 11, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

The Middle East’s Top Challenges in 2026

The collapse of Iran’s regional influence in 2025 has opened up a new spectrum of potential conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon that will define 2026.

January 9, 2026 | Ben Cohen |

The persistence of Israel’s ‘Periphery Doctrine’

The burgeoning relationship between Somaliland and Israel proves that the Jewish state is not hated and isolated in the region, despite the neighboring cluster of authoritarian states insisting otherwise.

January 9, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syria Risks a New War as Damascus Moves Against the Kurdish-Led SDF

War looms amid intensifying clashes between government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo. On January 7, Syrian army units encircled...