Israel's defense minister said Monday that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled airstrikes in Syria since taking power in late December 2022. "Since I took office, the number of Israeli strikes against the Iranians in Syria have...
Pentagon Admits It Doesn’t Know Who It Killed in Syria Drone Strike
US military officials are walking back claims that a drone strike Central Command (CENTCOM) launched on May 3 in northwest Syria killed a senior al-Qaeda leader after evidence emerged that a civilian was killed. When the strike was first launched in Syria's northwest...
Syria’s Assad to Attend Arab League Summit for First Time in Over a Decade
Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will attend an Arab League summit this Friday in Saudi Arabia for the first time in over a decade. Earlier this week, Mekdad attended a preparatory meeting for the summit,...
Report: US and Syria Engaged in Negotiations in Oman
The Cradle reported on Tuesday that the US and Syria have been engaged in secret, direct negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat. The report cited a senior diplomatic official in the Arab League who said the talks included "security figures from both countries and...
US Military Probing Reports It Killed a Civilian in Recent Syria Airstrike
The US military says it's looking into reports that it killed a civilian in a recent airstrike it launched in northwest Syria. When US Central Command (CENTCOM) first reported the strike on May 3, the command claimed it killed a senior al-Qaeda leader. But CENTCOM did...
US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Combat Syria Normalization
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House have introduced a bill aimed to combat Syria's normalization with regional countries that would expand sanctions and prohibit the US from establishing diplomatic ties with the government of Bashar al-Assad. The bill was...
Syrian, Turkish Foreign Ministers to Hold First Meeting in Over a Decade
The Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers will hold their first meeting in more than a decade on Wednesday in Moscow as more and more countries are taking steps to normalize with Damascus. The meeting will also be attended by the foreign ministers of Russia and Iran...
House Hawks Urge Biden to Use Sanctions to Prevent Syria Normalization
The top Republican and Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee released a statement on Monday slamming Syria's readmission into the Arab League and urging President Biden to use sanctions to prevent further normalization. "Readmitting Assad to the Arab League...
Arab League Votes to Readmit Syria
On Sunday, the Arab League voted to readmit Syria, marking a significant step in Damascus' efforts to normalize relations with regional countries. Syria was suspended from the Arab League at the outbreak of war in 2011, and many of the bloc's members threw their...
US Shifts Rhetoric on Regional Engagement With Syria
A White House National Security Council official told The National that the Biden administration was "encouraged" by a meeting between Syrian and other Arab foreign ministers that took place in Amman on Monday. The comments mark a significant shift in rhetoric from...