Author: M Barbu

Earlier this year, the Arab Gulf states were riding high. The energy crisis that followed the coronavirus pandemic had filled their coffers and renewed their roles as the stewards of global oil markets—and, in Qatar’s case, a reliable source of liquefied natural gas. Over the past few years, the Gulf countries have tactfully navigated the great-power competition between China, Russia, and the United States and successfully managed their relations with regional rivals, including Iran and Turkey.

“As an Arab Sunni, I am horrified that what criminal hordes committed is being enshrined as something that represents me or my community morally”, Yassine Sweiha writes.

As an Arab Sunni, I am horrified that what criminal hordes committed—first along the coast, and now in Sweida—is being enshrined as something that represents me or my community morally. I am appalled by the belief, shared by many, that such acts can lead us anywhere politically. The core of this country—its largest and most widely distributed community—must not be reduced to a pitiful reenactment of the Serbs of the 1990s: a blind, hate-filled group locked in a genocidal relationship with everyone around them. The Serbs of the ’90s had a lost paradise—Tito’s Yugoslavia. These heedless neo-Umayyads seem to view their lost paradise as Assad’s Syria, with an Abu Uday flavor. Shame on you for thinking we would become that.

Unifying and deradicalizing Syria’s armed forces will be the regime’s most formidable challenge.

The United States has now lifted all sanctions on Syria, except on some individuals and entities associated with the former Assad regime. Additionally, the United States has revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). This comes after Washington approved the Syrian leadership’s plan to incorporate thousands of foreign jihadists into the new Syrian army, dropping its longstanding demand that the new leadership deport or detain foreign fighters.

On July 29, 2025, Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), reiterated his commitment to a decentralized governance model for northeastern Syria while expressing concerns about the integration of SDF institutions into the Syrian state. In an interview with Al-Arabiya, Abdi emphasized the importance of constitutional guarantees to address apprehensions among SDF components, particularly following recent sectarian violence. This article outlines Abdi’s stance on the March 10, 2025, agreement with the Syrian transitional government, the challenges to its implementation, and the broader implications for Syria’s unity and Kurdish rights.

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 scrutiny from EU authorities. From FBI fugitives in Syria to a convicted smuggler in Libya, the trail of corruption stretches across borders—raising urgent questions about who enabled this shadowy operation.

Executive Summary

The Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) launched a multilateral defence industry cooperation platform that represents Ankara’s strategic initiative to expand its economic and geopolitical influence in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Coinciding with the 17th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul, this development supports Turkey’s ambitions to merge a defence-industrial bloc rooted in Turkic cultural ties.