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U.S. President Donald Trump said he would soon lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, though he did not mention specific demands Syria had met to earn such sanctions relief, Al Jazeera reported on May 13.

U.S., Syria: Trump Says U.S. Will Lift Sanctions on Syria

Israel

Qatar will provide $29 million a month to Syria to help pay civil servant salaries for at least the next three months, Reuters reported on May 7, citing Syria's finance minister.

Syria: Qatar Gains U.S. Sanctions Exemptions To Pay Syrian Civil Servant Salaries

Military & Security

Israel and Syria established a back channel not long after provisional Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the United Arab Emirates in April, with the talks focusing on security matters but not directly touching on Israel's current occupation of and military campaign in Syria, Reuters reported on May 7.

Syria, Israel: Back Channel Security Talks May Improve Relations Over Time

Israel conducted an airstrike near Syria's presidential palace in Damascus, Bloomberg reported on May 2.

Israel, Syria: Israel Strikes Near Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus

Clashes between Druze and Sunni gunmen in the Druze-majority town of Jaramana reportedly resulted in the deaths of 13 individuals after a recording of a Druze man allegedly cursing the Prophet Muhammad circulated, drawing in Sunni gunmen from nearby areas, Reuters reported April 29.

Syria: Druze and Sunnis Clash Near Damascus, Killing 13

A contingent of around 400 Syrian Kurds representing the country's main Kurdish groups met in Qamishli, Syria, and called for the establishment of a decentralized, democratic Syrian state with a new constitution that "guarantee[s] the national rights of the Kurdish people and abide[s] by international laws for human rights and women's rights," AP reported on April 27.

Syria: Kurds Call for Decentralized State, Damascus Rejects It

Syria detained two Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders: Khaled Khaled, head of PIJ operations in Syria, and Yasser al-Zafari, head of PIJ's organizational committee, Reuters reported on April 22, citing PIJ and a Syrian official.

Syria: Damascus Detains PIJ Leaders in Pursuit of U.S. Sanctions Relief

The United States plans to withdraw up to half of its 2,000 troops stationed in Syria over the next several months, Reuters reported on April 15.

Syria, U.S.: Washington Plans Troop Drawdown in Syria

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A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B aircraft over the North Sea having taken off from RAF Fairford on July 1, 2016 in Gloucestershire, England. The tactic designed to allow intervention without deepening withdrawalism will instead do the opposite, and Washington will face more and more calls to retrench from the Middle East.

The tactic designed to allow intervention without deepening withdrawalism will instead do the opposite, and Washington will face more and more calls to retrench from the Middle East.

Washington Bumps up Against the Limits of Airpower in the Middle East

Assessments

Fighters gather outside a building that was seized by jihadists in Syria's northern Aleppo province on Nov. 29, 2024, amid the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) offensive against government forces.

The two countries will seek to avoid direct conflict amid U.S. pressure to de-escalate tensions, but their competing military presence in Syria and elevated risk tolerances leave the door open to miscalculations and limited clashes.

Can Israel and Turkey Avoid a Conflict in Syria?

Lebanon

A Lebanese flag painted on a damaged building in the village of Meiss El-Jabal in southern Lebanon is seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on Jan. 23, 2025, in northern Israel. 

Hezbollah's military losses and the formation of Lebanon's new government have opened the door to a new chapter in Lebanese history, although external pressure will complicate the country's next steps.

Hezbollah's Future in Lebanon

An Israeli army vehicle patrols near the fence leading into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone, which separates Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights, on Jan. 5, 2025. 

An open-ended Israeli military campaign in southern Syria risks destabilizing the country's fragile political transition and pushing Damascus back toward anti-Israeli forces like Hezbollah and Iran.

Israel's Effort To Secure Post-Assad Syria Risks Doing the Opposite

Syrian Kurds wave independence-era flags in support of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Dec. 19, 2024, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.

A rapprochement would boost the odds of Turkish constitutional reform needed to give Erdogan another term, while its failure could presage regionwide violence.

Hints Emerge of a Turkish-Kurdish Thaw

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan welcomes his Syrian counterpart Asaad Al-Shaibani before attending an Arab officials' meeting in Riyadh on Jan. 12, 2025.

Saudi Arabia's re-engagement with Lebanon, Syria and Iraq aims to counterbalance Turkey, Qatar and Iran but faces limits due to sectarian politics and foreign interference, which may make Riyadh more assertive over time.

Saudi Arabia Moves To Counterbalance Turkey and Qatar, Replace Iran in the Levant

Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand atop a humvee in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province during a joint military exercise with the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State on Sept. 7, 2022.

The threat of a Turkish offensive and decreasing U.S. aid will increasingly pressure the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces to reach a deal with Syria's new government. 

The Uncertain Future of U.S.-Backed Kurds in Syria

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The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Social Issues

Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

A shuttered hotel is seen in Aleppo, Syria, on Jan. 24, 2025. 

To secure sanctions relief from the West, Syria's new leaders will likely take some symbolic steps toward forming an inclusive government, but any relief may prove temporary if Damascus diverges from its democratic promises.

The Prospect of Sanctions Relief for Post-Assad Syria

Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa addresses a crowd at a mosque in Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024.

While Syrians will drive their country's destiny, external influence from regional and global powers could determine what kind of government replaces the deposed Assad regime.

Syria's Future: Islamist Republic, Turkish Client State, or Jihadist Stronghold?

Media

Podcasts

Why did Syria's al Assad regime collapse so quickly after fighting reignited in November 2024?

Essential Geopolitics: Syria after al Assad

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani holds a press conference in Doha on Jan. 15, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Despite Qatar's success in getting Hamas to accept a ceasefire with Israel, Trump will remain critical of Doha's support for Islamist movements in the region.

For Qatar, the Gaza Ceasefire Will Ease U.S. Pressure -- For Now

<p>Modern Syria is located along the eastern Mediterranean Sea, bordering Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Syria&rsquo;s main geographic challenge is uniting its diverse ethnic groups under one domestic power. This is the result of mountainous terrain and ethnic cores that contradict the state&rsquo;s current borders. Syria&rsquo;s population is composed of Sunni Arabs, Alawites, Kurds, Druze, and Christians, among others. The traditional core of Syria&#39;s ruling Alawite minority sits on the northern coastal plain to the west of the Jabal an Nusayriya mountains and to the north of the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Between these two ranges, the Homs Gap has often been the point of invasions from the Mediterranean Sea. The interior region is dominated by the majority Sunni Arab peoples. The Syrian Desert divides this area into two competing regions with strong local identities. The first, Damascus, is the historical capital and the modern seat of power for the Alawites. The other, Aleppo, is situated in the agricultural heartlands of the Aleppo plateau. The Euphrates river divides this plateau from the much more arid Jazirah plateau and allows for irrigation in an otherwise desert region. Syria&rsquo;s modern boundaries fall short of the historical concept of Greater Syria&mdash;spanning from Lebanon to the west and Jordan and Israel to the south. Its current borders were set by the League of Nations&#39; French Mandate, following the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. Lebanon, especially Beirut, has always been important to Syria because of its trade ports and access to Mediterranean markets. Syria&rsquo;s recent civil unrest is the latest example of its geographic challenge. Maintaining unity remains difficult so long as its current boundaries continue to overlap regional and ethnic fault lines.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

U.S., Syria: Trump Says U.S. Will Lift Sanctions on Syria

Syria: Qatar Gains U.S. Sanctions Exemptions To Pay Syrian Civil Servant Salaries

Syria, Israel: Back Channel Security Talks May Improve Relations Over Time

Israel, Syria: Israel Strikes Near Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus

Syria: Druze and Sunnis Clash Near Damascus, Killing 13

Syria: Kurds Call for Decentralized State, Damascus Rejects It

Syria: Damascus Detains PIJ Leaders in Pursuit of U.S. Sanctions Relief

Syria, U.S.: Washington Plans Troop Drawdown in Syria

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