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...
Syrian Leader Sharaa Says Willing to Normalize Relations With Israel
Syria’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has reportedly expressed openness to normalizing relations with Israel under certain circumstances, ending decades of acrimony between the two neighboring states. Sharaa reportedly discussed the matter with Rep. Cory Mills (R – FL)...
Syria Detains Top Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leaders After US Demands
Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government has been unclear about what their position will be on the Palestinians. That’s an important issue because there is a large Palestinian population within Syria. It’s also an important topic because the US has recently...
US Demands Syrian Government Ban Palestinian Groups
After the ouster of the Assad government in Syria in December, the US has not recognized the new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham government (HTS). This has meant a number of issues, including continued sanctions on Syria and the State Department downgrading of Syria’s mission at...
Hezbollah Won’t Disarm While Israeli Troops Remain in Lebanon, Leader Says
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem made a special broadcast over the weekend, announcing that the organization will not agree to fully disarm so long as Israeli ground troops remain in southern Lebanon as so long as Israeli warplanes continue to violate Lebanese airspace....
Israel Continues South Lebanon Strikes as US Urges Lebanon to Do Something About Hezbollah
Israel continued to attack southern Lebanon today, with no signs of the operations slowing down and similarly no signs that the targets are selected in any consistent manner. This comes as US envoy Morgan Ortagus is in Lebanon on an official visit meant in part to...
US Issues Demands to Syria Government, Offers Minor Sanctions Relief in Return
While the US loudly applauded the regime change in Syria back in December, their interaction with the new Islamist government in Damascus has been fairly limited. It is now being reported that the US sent Syria a list of demands, and offered “partial sanctions relief”...
Lebanon Contacts US, France as Israel Escalates Attacks, Threatens Beirut
Lebanese officials, including President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam have been in “intensive contact” with the US and French government in recent days, as Israel escalates its airstrikes against southern Lebanon and threatens attacks on the capital city of Beirut....
Trump Invokes Wartime Emergency Powers in Order To Prioritize US Mineral and Industrial Production
President Trump has faced more than a few controversies with his broad use of executive orders since retaking office in January. It looks like a new issue may be being stirred up with one of his most recent, invoking wartime emergency powers to dramatically increase...
State Department Approves First Sale of Laser-Guided Missiles to Saudi Arabia
Continuing a trend of selling large amounts of weaponry to Saudi Arabia, the State Department has delivered certification informing Congress of their intention to sell a package of 2,000 laser-guided APKWS II missiles and assorted parts to the Saudis for an estimated...