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Lebanon, Syria Seek a Way Out of Roumieh Prison Stalemate
More than a year has passed since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, yet more than 2,000 Syrian prisoners remain in Lebanese jails, enduring the uncertainty of their fate amid a negotiation process that has yet to reach a conclusion. Among them are individuals detained on politically motivated charges or for participating in the Syrian…
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Assad-Era Remnants in Lebanon: Legal and Security Risks
The killing of Ghassan Nassan al-Sukhni– a former military commander in Syria’s ousted regime’s army, is not an unsignificant incident. A few bullets ended Sukhni’s life in Lebanon’s Keserwan region, but they also reopened one of the most sensitive and complex files facing Lebanon: the presence of remnants of the Assad regime on Lebanese soil,…
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Al-Sharaa, Iran, and the Syria–Iraq Relationship
After the change in Syria’s political leadership, Damascus and Baghdad have kept diplomatic channels open between them, although the latter has not removed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa from its terrorism list. Under Decision No. 62 of 2025, issued last October, Iraq’s Terrorism Financing Monitoring Committee amended the Syrian president’s name on its records, adopting his…
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Amid Divisions in Syria, Is ISIS Exploiting the Void?
On December 13, 2025, an Islamic State gunman carried out an attack in Palmyra, in central Syria, killing two U.S. soldiers and a translator. The attack took place at the entrance to a facility belonging to Syria’s Internal Security Command, following a joint patrol by Syrian and U.S. forces — a striking indication of the…
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Washington and Syria: Optimism Masks Fragile Realities
In Washington, the mood around Syria has turned unexpectedly hopeful. The fall of Bashar al-Assad has opened what many officials see as a rare political reset: a chance for a new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, to steer a country battered by thirteen years of war toward stability. Sanctions are being eased. Diplomatic visits have resumed. Refugees…
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Syria After Palmyra
On the outskirts of the Syrian city of Palmyra, a moment that was supposed to pass quietly last Saturday turned into a highly complex security incident after a barrage of gunfire ripped through the area, targeting U.S. forces and Syrian security personnel. The repercussions of the attack—which killed two U.S. soldiers and one U.S. civilian,…
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Palmyra Attack and the Fragility of Assumptions about Syria’s New Leadership
One of the most persistent gaps in the U.S. debate on Syria appears to be the assumption that the new leadership in Damascus exercises real control over the forces it claims to command. In an interview with Alhurra, a U.S. State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington’s think tanks tend to…
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Moves Underway to Hand Over Synagogues in Syria to Jewish Custodians
Officially, the “Jewish Heritage in Syria Foundation” has become the first Jewish organization to be legally registered in the country, with a mission to restore what remains of Syria’s Jewish heritage — and potentially go further by reopening synagogues destroyed during the war and organizing regular religious visits in a country where a once-large Jewish…
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U.S. House Passes Defense Bill with Provisions on Iraq and Syria
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday evening passed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), approving a record Pentagon budget of more than $901 billion for annual military spending, along with several other measures, including provisions related to Syria and Iraq. The House approved the bill in a 312–112 vote. It now heads to…
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Syria: One Year After Assad’s Fall
From Damascus to Idlib, and from the streets of Gaziantep to Berlin and Stockholm, Syrians marked the first anniversary of the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Despite vast distances, the scenes were strikingly similar: large marches, revolutionary chants, and flags of the new Syria held aloft by hands. The faces that have been…