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...
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’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...
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 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....
