Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers that talks with Syria had advanced toward a potential security agreement, while a senior U.S. official said the deal is 99 percent complete; the official suggested an announcement may occur within two weeks (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, Syria reported it will hold its first parliamentary elections since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster on October 5, with a third of the 210 seats appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the rest chosen by local committees; the new assembly is tasked with approving reforms and treaties, though critics warn the system excludes marginalized communities (Al Jazeera)
Joint Security Operation Kills Islamic State Leader in Syria
The Iraqi Counterterrorism Service announced that a joint operation with the U.S.-led international coalition killed a commander of the self-proclaimed Islamic State accused of leading multiple attacks in foreign countries, including the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon (Reuters)
Syria’s Foreign Minister Visits Washington in First Official Trip in Twenty-Five Years
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Washington on Thursday for talks with U.S. officials, marking the first official visit by a Damascus official in twenty-five years (AP)
Meanwhile, UN Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen announced he will step down after more than six years of failed mediation efforts and continued turmoil (Reuters)
Syria’s President Says Security Talks With Israel Could Yield Results Soon
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said negotiations with Israel on a security pact could produce results “in the coming days,” although he stressed any finalized agreement must end Israeli strikes and respect Syrian sovereignty (Al Jazeera)
Syria Announces Druze Security Deal With Jordan and United States
Damascus announced a roadmap for stabilizing the Druze-majority As-Suwayda province that includes U.S.-brokered security understandings with Israel; Jordan is supporting the effort (AP)
Syria Confirms Talks With Israel on Restoring 1974 Disengagement Agreement
President Ahmed al-Sharaa said negotiations are underway to reinstate the security terms established after the 1973 war, while Damascus calls for UNDOF forces to return to the disengagement zone amid outreach to the United States, Russia, and regional powers (Jerusalem Post)
Syria’s Oil Exports
Syria exported crude oil from the Tartus terminal on its western coast today for the first time in fourteen years (Anadolu Agency)
Before its civil war started in 2011, oil accounted for around half of Syria’s exports (Euronews)
A Syrian official did not say where the oil came from; much of the country’s oil lies in areas controlled by Kurdish authorities (Reuters)
Syria-Israel Talks
Officials from the two countries met in Paris this week for the first time since Syria’s interim government took power last December; the United States mediated the talks, which focused on de-escalating tensions that have flared since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (NYT)
Israel launched air strikes on Damascus last month after sectarian violence—which ultimately killed more than 1,600 people—erupted in Syria’s Sweida region, saying it was acting on behalf of Syria’s Druze minority (BBC)
UN Report: Evidence of War Crimes in Syria’s Coastal and Western Central Regions
A UN report about a spate of violence in coastal and western central Syria this year found that both government forces and other armed groups likely committed war crimes, although there was no evidence that Syria’s central government directed its forces to carry out killings (UN)
The report was the most detailed public account yet of the incidents, in which government forces responded to an ambush by fighters loyal to the ousted President Bashar al-Assad (NYT)
Turkey, Syria Sign Military Training Deal
In Ankara, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Syria’s Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra signed a memorandum of understanding on “Joint Training and Advisory Cooperation” (AP)
Additionally, in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of undermining the new Syrian government’s efforts to establish itself (AP)
U.S. Brokering Deal for Humanitarian Corridor to Sweida
According to a report by Axios, the Trump administration is working to broker a deal between Israel and Syria that would establish a humanitarian corridor from Israel to Sweida to deliver aid to the Druze community (Axios)
The details of the deal will be determined in a meeting with U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Paris next week (Haaretz)
Turkish Investment in Syria
Turkey plans to fund industrial zones in Syria that would group small and medium-sized businesses to aid the country’s economic recovery; trade between the countries during the first part of 2025 is on track to surpass the total trade of last year, before the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December (Bloomberg)
Syrian Democratic Forces Fighting Against Government Forces in Aleppo
The fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and government troops contradicts a March agreement that aimed to integrate them into the country’s military; the SDF accused the government of initiating the violence by carrying out attacks on four of its bases in Dayr Hafir (Reuters)
Fighting in Sweida Restarts
In Druze-majority Sweida, clashes between Druze and Syrian security forces erupted near Tal Hadid and Thaala, killing three Syrian security personnel and one Druze militia member and causing an unconfirmed number of injuries; shells and heavy weapons were used in bombardments (France24)
Syrian, Russian Officials Meet in Moscow
In the first formal visit by a Syrian official from the new government, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said that Syria wants Russia “by [its] side” in its path “to build a united and strong Syria”; he also thanked Russia for its rejection of Israeli strikes against Syria, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pledged Russian assistance in its reconstruction (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Foreign Minister to Visit Moscow
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will host Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Moscow on Thursday; the meeting is the first visit by an official in Syria’s new government to Russia (AP)
Syria Plans Elections
Syria’s interim government plans to hold parliamentary elections between September 15–20, the head of the electoral body told state media; they would be the first elections held since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December (WaPo)
One-third of legislators will be appointed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the other two-thirds elected; they will serve in an interim parliament until general elections at a future date (AP)
Saudi Arabia Pledges $6.4 Billion in Investments in Syria
A top Saudi government official announced $6.4 billion in planned investments in Syria at a Damascus forum, saying his visit confirmed Saudi Arabia’s “firm and supportive stance” toward Syria and its interim government; the deals span the real estate, infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors (Reuters)
Riyadh helped convince Washington to lift sanctions on Syria earlier this year (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Government Requested Turkish Defense Support
Turkish Defense Ministry officials claimed that Syria asked Turkey for its help in strengthening its defense capabilities to help quell recent sectarian violence and combat terrorist organizations (Euronews)
Syrian Probe of March Violence Between Alawites and Government Forces
A March spate of violence that killed security forces and Alawites—an Arab ethnoreligious group—left 1,426 people dead, according to a Syrian government fact-finding committee; it said that military commanders did not give orders for revenge attacks (Reuters)
An Alawite council rejected the findings and called for an independent investigation; a Reuters report last month linked some people who ordered attacks to the interim government (Reuters)
Evacuations from Sweida Begin
Syria’s government began evacuating Bedouin families trapped in Sweida as fighting has largely stopped (AP)
U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack reaffirmed Washington’s support for Syria’s new government and denounced Israel’s intervention in Syria (AP)
Clashes in Sweida Restart Despite Ceasefire
Sectarian violence continued in Sweida between the Druze and Syrian Bedouin tribes, as witnesses recorded machinegun fire and mortar shelling in the area; casualties were not confirmed (Reuters)
Later, Syria’s Interior Ministry claimed that the fighting had stopped and there were no longer Bedouin fighters in the area (Reuters)
Separately, some sources claimed that Syria’s decision to deploy its forces to the south, which provoked a military response from Israel, came after U.S. messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state; Syria thus considered this a “green light” from Israel and the United States (Reuters)
Israel, Syria Agree to Ceasefire
According to U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, Israel and Syria agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan, and other countries; despite previously opposing Syrian troops’ deployment to Syria’s south, Israel granted Syria a window to end the clashes there (Reuters)
Syrian Forces Withdraw From Sweida As New Ceasefire Takes Effect
The Syrian government said in a statement that it would stop all military operations and form a committee with the Druze community to monitor security in the area (CNN)
American, Arab, and Turkish mediators helped negotiate the agreement (AP)
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported more than 350 deaths from all sides after days of clashes had threatened the country’s fragile political transition (Guardian)
In a televised address, Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, condemned Israel for striking government and civilian targets; Sharaa said Israel’s actions had risked “large-scale escalation” (Guardian)
He also pledged to protect the Druze community (Reuters)
Israel Strikes Damascus
Shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “painful blows will come” to Syrian government forces attacking the Druze population in Sweida, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Damascus, targeting the defense ministry and presidential palace (AP; Reuters)
The strikes in Damascus have killed at least three people and wounded more than thirty, according to Syria’s health ministry (NPR)
A new ceasefire agreement was later announced by the Syrian Interior Ministry and a Druze religious leader; however, a separate Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, rejected the agreement (AP).