Syria assad

Damascus synagogue tours highlight renewed interest in Syrian Jewish history and diaspora ties

Tours of synagogues and meetings with religious leaders highlight renewed interest in Jewish history and unresolved questions over historic sites, property, and diaspora ties.

A rabbi holds a Torah scroll at the Ifrange Synagogue in the Jewish quarter in Old Damascus on April 29, 2025.
Chemical weapons disposal [file]

Syrian officials find remnants of chemical weapons program from Assad regime era - report

Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, attends a trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026.

Syria opens first public trial of former Assad regime official Atef Najib

Hezbollah and Syrian flags are seen fluttering in Fleita, Syria, 2017

In post-Assad era, Hezbollah’s shrinks to cells, smugglers, and cheap rockets - analysis


Iraq and Syria discuss tackling cross-border drug trade

Having welcomed back Assad, Arab states want him to curb a flourishing Syrian trade in narcotics, which are produced in Syria and smuggled across the region.

 Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein attend a joint press conference, in Baghdad, Iraq June 4, 2023.

Syrians react to Assad's return to Arab League

Bashar Assad's attendance at the Arab League summit after a 13-year absence signals a potential regional reintegration, despite sparking controversy and eliciting mixed reactions from Syrians at home

 UAE PRESIDENT Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan bids farewell to Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad, at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, last month

Syria's Assad to steal spotlight at Arab summit after years in the cold

While Arab countries appear to have brought Assad in from the cold, they are still demanding that he curbs Syria's drug trade.

 IRAN’S PRESIDENT Ebrahim Raisi meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tehran, earlier this month.

Syrian drug flow into Middle East may be outside Assad’s control

Arab League partners expect Syrian President Bashar Assad to deal with massive trafficking of the amphetamine Captagon, but the drug’s production and distribution network is embedded in Syria

 UAE PRESIDENT Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan bids farewell to Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad, at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, last month

Syrians split over government readmission into Arab League

Readmitting Syria into the Arab League was a "shock" for Syrians and would "kill the political process," said Bader Jamous, the head of the opposition's negotiating team

 Saudi Arabia hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 14, 2023.

Syria to be readmitted soon to Arab League, Jordan minister says

Safadi said Syria's readiness to make real progress in resolving the conflict would help it win the crucial Arab support to lobby for an eventual end of Western sanctions

 JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Ayman Safadi speaks at a news conference in Amman last month, with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at his side. This week, Safadi brazenly declared that Israel has no sovereignty over the Jerusalem holy sites.

Arab countries move toward welcoming Syria back into Arab League

As part of a reciprocal road map toward normalized relations with Syria, Arab countries are calling on Syria to address its illegal drug production and the militias in the country.

 Saudi Arabia hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 14, 2023.

EU curbs Syria's Assad cousins, others over suspected drug trade

It said government-backed militias were "attempting to evade the sanctions by changing their name and seeking to attract international contracts by posing as private security firms."

 European Commission President Urusla von der Leyen delivers state of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, September 14, 2022.

The Arab world is preparing to readmit Assad - opinion

On March 25, Qatar, which has rejected previous calls to reinstate Syria to the Arab League, announced its support for the Jordanian initiative.

 IRAN’S PRESIDENT Ebrahim Raisi meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tehran, earlier this month.

Jordan pushing Arab peace plan to end Syria conflict

Syria would also need to take steps to stamp out a multi-billion dollar drug trafficking trade to Jordan and the Gulf from it's southern borders.

 SYRIA’S PRESIDENT Bashar Assad places flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Damascus during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the 1973 war with Israel.