Middle Orient

When Mediterranean Airlines became the first European carrier to resume flights to Damascus in 2025, it wasn’t just a business decision—it was a move shrouded in crime and political intrigue. This investigation reveals how the Greek airline partnered with wanted arms dealers, drug traffickers, and migrant smugglers, all while evading …

Last week, the United States Congress delivered an unexpected political blow to Syria’s transitional government. The House Financial Services Committee approved a new bill—the Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025—proposed by Republican Congressman Michael Lawler of New York, to revise the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. Passed by a vote …

The IRGC spokesman stated that the Israeli defense minister’s threats against the IranianSupreme Leader were intended for psychological warfare and that the Iranian armed forcesare prepared to resume fighting with Israel. The Iranian chief of staff also stressed that hiscountry is prepared to deal decisively with the renewal of attacks …

In a notable shift with wide regional implications, Israel launched recent airstrikes targeting key Syrian army sites in Damascus and Suweida, claiming the strikes were necessary to “defend the Druze” amid fierce clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes in Suweida. This escalation, according to analysts, places Turkey in …

The threat from Islamic State and al-Qaida extremists and their affiliates is most intense in parts of Africa, and risks are growing in Syria, which both groups view as a “a strategic base for external operations,” U.N. experts said in a new report. Their report to the U.N. Security Council …

Over a week between November and December 2024, Syria’s Assad regime disintegrated under pressure from a rebel offensive after 14 years of war. This offensive was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Salafi extremist group. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, …

The E3 (the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) reiterated that it will trigger the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) snapback mechanism to reinstate UN Security Council sanctions on Iran if Iran fails to make progress towards a nuclear deal by the end of August 2025.[1] CTP-ISW previously assessed that …

Le 19 juillet, le Mail on Sunday a révélé qu’Inter-Mediate, une société obscure fondée par Jonathan Powell, désormais conseiller à la Sécurité nationale du Premier ministre britannique Keir Starmer, a négocié le rétablissement des relations diplomatiques entre Damas et Londres. Cette visite s’est notamment traduite par une réunion très médiatisée …

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. Israeli strikes overnight killed more than two dozen people, mostly women and children, according to health officials. The Israeli offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has …

[This investigation is co-published with French investigative outlet Disclose and our Arabic-language sister publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. It is a follow-up to a first investigation into the same subject, which was published in French in online newspaper Mediapart in March 2024]. [The situated testimony video included in this investigation is a …