US officials have reportedly begun discussing the possibility of seeking the dissolution of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, a move that comes amid a ceasefire that sees multiple violations on a daily basis. They emphasized that no decision has yet...
In December after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power in Syria, the Biden Administration lifted the $10 million bounty on the head of Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Sharaa has gone on quite an effort to...
The position of the United States on the Islamist Syrian government has been complex since the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power in December. The HTS, after all, was effectively al-Qaeda’s Syria branch up until it distanced itself from the parent group, with...
In late February, the IAEA released a quarterly report on Iran’s civilian nuclear program with predictable results. This weekend, the next quarterly report has dropped, and as last time, the media is in an absolute tizzy with panic about figures that should have been...
War, sanctions and other economic threats have proven a popular way for the West to try to sway elections in the Middle East. When southern Lebanon went to its municipal elections last week, Israeli media and other Western outlets seemed to expect Hezbollah would...
When the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized power in Syria in December, it was seen as the presumptive end of the protracted civil war in that country, since it removed President Assad from power. Since then, there seems to be quite a bit of internal conflict...
President Trump has announced that he will lift all sanctions the US has against the Syrian government, which he says will “give them a chance at greatness.” He will also meet Syria’s leader, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday. The US has...
The embassy has announced that Maj. Gen. Michael Leeney will be the new top US military official monitoring the ceasefire in Lebanon. He will replace Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who previously held that post. The embassy’s statement emphasized Maj. Gen. Leeney will work...
With near daily airstrikes against Lebanon and thousands of Israeli ceasefire violations documented since the ceasefire went into effect, there is growing pressure on the ceasefire monitoring committee to actually chime in on the matter. The ceasefire monitors, which...
Much has been made recently of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and their openness to normalizing relations with Israel. The specifics of this interest are more and more public, as a letter Syria submitted to the US has been made public. The letter has made it clear...
