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).
Fighting Breaks Out Again In Spite of Ceasefire
Clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze militias began around the city of Sweida over the weekend, reportedly after members of a Bedouin group attacked a Druze man at a checkpoint they had made (AP)
This morning, Israel struck the entrance to the Syrian defense ministry in Damascus, sixty-seven miles away (Reuters)
Israel has carried out direct attacks on Syrian government forces for the past three days, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering his military to strike Syrian troops and weapons throughout the Sweida area (WaPo)
An Israeli cabinet member and minister called for Syria’s interim president to be “eliminated” in a social media post (AP)
Syria condemned Israel’s intervention, saying it was a violation of international law (Al Jazeera)
Fighting Continues in Sweida Despite Ceasefire Announcement
Syria’s military advanced into a Druze stronghold to “pursue outlaw groups” (CNN)
Reuters reported that Syrian troops looted and damaged homes (Reuters)
In response, Israel launched strikes against the Syrian forces, as Netanyahu’s administration is determined to protect the Druze population, citing “familial and historical ties” to the group (CNN)
A war monitor based in the United Kingdom (UK) estimated that the death toll had surpassed two hundred people (SOHR)
Violence Between Sunni Bedouin and Druze Groups Persists
The country’s interior ministry said at least thirty people were killed and one hundred injured, while a United Kingdom-based war monitor put the number dead at more than fifty (AP)
The ministry said it was deploying security forces to the region, calling the clashes a “dangerous escalation”; Israel also struck military tanks in the area (BBC)
Sectarian Fighting Erupts in Sweida
Two days after a Druze merchant was allegedly abducted on the highway to Damascus, armed clashes between the Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and the Druze militias broke out; casualty figures were not immediately provided (BBC)
United States Removes HTS From Foreign Terrorist Groups List
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States is revoking Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)’s Foreign Terrorist Organization status; the move comes as the United States considers Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s actions to be “positive” (State)
Trump is reportedly considering offering his support for a peace deal between Syria and Israel if Netanyahu agrees to end the war in Gaza (Times of Israel)
UK Restores Full Diplomatic Ties With Syria
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy made the announcement during a visit to Damascus, arguing that a stable Syria would reduce irregular migration, ensure chemical weapons were destroyed, and help tackle the threat of terrorism; he also pledged $129 million in humanitarian and economic development support (AP)
United States Removes Sanctions on Syria
Trump signed an executive order terminating many sanctions on Syria, while also directing agencies to review the country’s listing as a state sponsor of terrorism and the terrorist designation on the rebel group that ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad (White House)
Trump met with Syria’s interim president—also the former leader of the rebel group—Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia six weeks ago (Axios)
Attack in Damascus
Syria’s interior ministry said the Islamic State was responsible for a suicide attack in a Damascus church that killed more than twenty people (CNN)
It was reportedly the first major Islamic State attack since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December; the group has attempted to rebuild its forces amid the security vacuum in Syria following Assad’s ouster (Guardian)
Israeli Forces Raid Syrian Village, Allegedly Arresting Hamas Fighters
While conducting an operation to detain suspected Hamas militants in Beit Jin in southern Syria, reportedly roughly one hundred Israeli soldiers raided the area, capturing seven alleged Hamas militants and killing one (AP)
Israel Strikes Southern Syria in ‘Retaliatory’ Attack
Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Syria after it said that projectiles were fired from Syria toward Israel yesterday (Reuters; BBC)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa for yesterday’s projectiles, while Syria’s foreign ministry said it could not immediately verify reports of strikes from inside Syria and was working to contain nonstate actors in the country (Times of Israel)
U.S. Forces Begin Drawdown in Syria
Hundreds of U.S. troops withdrew from Syria in recent weeks as part of a planned drawdown, an unnamed U.S. official told Al Arabiya (Al Arabiya)
Separately, the U.S. special envoy to Syria said that the Trump administration now approved the integration of foreign fighters into the Syrian military, which Washington had opposed until at least early May; Syria’s interim government reportedly argued that integrating them into the army is less of a risk than leaving them to potentially join nonstate militant groups (Reuters)
Syria Signs $7 Billion Energy Deal
Syria’s interim government signed a roughly $7 billion preliminary deal with a group of U.S., Turkish, and Qatari companies to build three gas-fired power plants and a solar plant (France24)
The firms aim to complete construction within three years for the gas plants and less than two years for the solar plant; the projects are expected to cover more than 50 percent of Syria’s electricity needs once finished (Reuters)
Reported Israel-Syria Talks
Delegations from Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks in recent weeks to de-escalate tensions, multiple media outlets reported; the countries have a long history of poor relations, which worsened after Israel moved troops into Syria following the rebel takeover last December (FT)
The Israeli and Syrian foreign ministries did not immediately comment, while a Syrian official reported to have participated in the talks denied having done so (Reuters)
EU Lifts Syria Sanctions
The bloc will lift economic sanctions on Syria in an effort to help reconstruction efforts, Kallas said; Germany’s foreign minister said that Brussels seeks a fresh start with Syria but expects “an inclusive policy within the country” (Guardian)