#new_middle_east

US envoy says Syria will ‘actively assist’ Washington in confronting Hezbollah
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/34258

Donc, des mercenaires ouigours, tchetchènes et ouzbèkes à la frontière syro-libanaise, en prélude à unemise au pas du Hezbollah...

Tom Barrack :

“Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist networks, and will stand as a committed partner in the global effort to secure peace,” the envoy added.

▻https://thecradle.co/articles/exclusive-syria-deploys-foreign-fighters-to-lebanon-border

Last month, Al Mayadeen cited diplomatic sources as saying that “unusual” movements of thousands of armed extremists, including fighters from Uzbekistanis, Chechens, and Uyghurs from China, were being observed along the Syrian–Lebanese border.

Tens of thousands of foreign fighters entered Syria illegally to join the US-backed war to topple former president Bashar al-Assad’s government, which began in 2011. The new authorities in Damascus have given some of these foreigners top positions in the army, and said they are considering giving them Syrian citizenship.

Reports of a buildup of Syrian army forces near the Lebanese border coincide with new US threats that they could be used against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

#new_middle_east

Southern Syria: Where Israel redraws the Levant through water and gas
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/34018

https://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles_media/20aa6e10-b5af-11f0-a4c4-00163e02c055.png

Article important.

Southern Syria’s conflict has evolved far beyond traditional warfare. It now represents a multidimensional struggle over geography, sovereignty, and survival. Water and gas – once natural resources – have become the linchpins of Israel’s regional strategy.

Amid worsening climate conditions, Israel is turning its environmental vulnerabilities into geopolitical assets. By controlling key basins and blocking rival pipelines, it is transforming scarcity into leverage. For Syria’s transitional authorities, the challenge is existential: to defend what remains of the nation’s strategic lifelines under conditions of economic collapse and foreign encroachment.

The outcome of this contest will determine more than the fate of southern Syria. It will shape the next chapter of West Asia’s balance of power – one defined not by frontlines, but by who controls the flow of water and energy across the region’s fractured map.

Beyond Syria, Israel’s strategy of resource-based leverage extends deep into the Persian Gulf. Through firms like IDE Technologies, Tel Aviv has embedded its desalination and water-recycling systems at the core of Saudi and Kuwaiti infrastructure, often via consortia that conceal Israeli participation behind European intermediaries. Israeli hydrogeology experts recommend that Tel Aviv cooperate with Damascus in managing water resources after the fall of Assad’s government, highlighting Israel’s strategic control over groundwater development and agricultural projects. This approach could give Israel significant influence over water management in Syria, particularly regarding the Eastern Hermon Aquifer, which feeds the Baniyas and Dan Rivers and Wadi Barada – the main water source for Damascus. This has evolved into a regional model of influence, where dependence on Israeli water technology quietly advances normalization without diplomacy or declarations.

#new_middle_east

Israeli weapons firm opens first UAE branch
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/33929

Israeli defense technology company Controp Precision Technologies Ltd. announced the establishment of its first subsidiary in the UAE, Maariv reported on 26 October.

The new branch, Controp Emirates Ltd., will operate from Abu Dhabi’s Free Trade Zone (ADGM) with full ownership retained by the Israeli parent company.

This move marks the first Israeli arms venture in the Gulf since the 2020 Abraham Accords, described by Maariv as an “unprecedented security and economic step.”

According to the Israeli outlet, the government approved the creation of the subsidiary following authorization from the Ministry of Defense.

The Defense Security commissioner reviewed the plan and introduced “strict oversight mechanisms” to prevent the transfer of sensitive military information to foreign parties.

The Abu Dhabi branch will manage sales, maintenance, technical support, and local manufacturing of Controp’s electro-optical systems used for surveillance, targeting, and reconnaissance.

The initial investment, estimated at $30 million, will be financed through Controp’s equity and owner loans.

#new_middle_east

Syria in uproar after president al-Sharaa cancels Yom Kippur War anniversary
▻https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syxv8xb6xe

https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2025/09/24/HyMj4ei113xx/HyMj4ei113xx_1_0_3000_1689_0_large.jpg

Henry Hamra becomes first Jewish candidate for Syrian Parliament since 1967 - DemState
▻https://demstate.com/article/henry-hamra-becomes-first-jewish-candidate-for-syrian-parliament-since-196

Henry Hamra, a Syrian-American Jew, is running for a seat in the Syrian Parliament representing the Damascus district. Elections are scheduled for October 5, 2025.

Hamra is notable for being the first Jewish candidate to seek election to the Syrian Parliament since a 1967 decision that barred Syrian Jews from running for office.

#new_middle_east

‘Tribes and villages’ : US envoy Tom Barrack questions existence of Middle East
▻https://english.alarabiya.net/News/united-states/2025/09/26/-tribes-and-villages-us-envoy-tom-barrack-questions-existence-of-

Même Bernard Lewis n’aurait pas osé !

The Middle East as a region made up of sovereign countries does not exist, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack claimed Friday, in his most recent controversial remarks.

“There is no Middle East. There [are] tribes and villages,” he said speaking to reporters, arguing that modern nation states were created by the British and the French in 1916.

The US Ambassador said that the colonial powers drew “straight lines” across the Ottoman empire to create nation states for the modern Middle East.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“But the Middle East doesn’t work that way,” he said, adding that “It starts with the individual, family, village, then tribe, community, religion. Lastly, Nation.”

In a video clip, Barrack seems to be explaining a dissonance between the simultaneous existence of nation states and the multiplicity of Middle Easten ethnic groups.

Elaborating on why he calls it an “illusion,” he said it was impossible to expect “27 different nations that have 110 different ethnic groups to align with political concepts.”

He said people in Middle Eastern countries can only align with the thinking “make my life and my children’s life better.”

#orientalisme #new_middle_east

Tom Barrack ’abruptly dismisses’ US diplomats over Damascus–Kurdish file
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/33232

Les nouveaux diplomates US en poste quasi officiel à Damas virés par Barrack, l’ami de Trump envoyé spécial pour le Moyen-Orient. Probablement parce qu’ils soutenaient les Kurdes qui refusent de donner leurs armes par peur de massacres.
Une leçon à méditer pour les Libanais...
#new_middle_east

A number of diplomats from the US mission to Syria have been abruptly dismissed by the US envoy to the country, Reuters reported on 18 September, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The diplomats were part of the “Regional Syria – De Facto Mission” working from Istanbul. The US closed its embassy in Syria in 2012 amid Washington and Tel Aviv’s covert war to topple the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The sources, including two western diplomats, “said the moves were sudden, involuntary, and came toward the end of last week,” the news agency wrote.

Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria, was appointed in May and is a long-time friend of US President Donald Trump.

US officials have welcomed Syria’s new President Ahmad al-Sharaa since he assumed power in December, toppling Assad. Sharaa is a former Al-Qaeda and Islamic State commander known for dispatching suicide and car bombs to kill Syrian, Lebanese, and Iraqi civilians.

Barrack has reportedly urged the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to relinquish areas of north and east Syria under their control and integrate the Kurdish and Arab fighters under their command into Syrian security forces commanded by Sharaa.

One the sources told Reuters the diplomats were dismissed in part by “a divergence” between their views and those of Barrack on the issue of the SDF and Sharaa.

SDF leaders have reportedly resisted pressure from Barrack to give up control of their autonomous region in north and east Syria, as well as the oil fields located within it.

The massacre of thousands of Alawite and Druze religious minorities in March and July of this year has also discouraged the SDF from integrating with Damascus.

SDF leaders say that if they give up their weapons, Kurds could be targeted by Sharaa’s forces in similar massacres.

الاستنفار قائم مع إيران وعين العدو على لبنان وفرض واقع جديد في سوريا : مؤشرات مقلقة على نوايا إسرائيل في المستقبل القريب
▻https://www.al-akhbar.com/lebanon/859040/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A6

Au détour d’un (bon)article sur la situation régionale, ce paragraphe où il est dit que les Israéliens ont signifié aux « Syriens » que toute présence militaire sérieuse au-delà d’une dizaine de kms au sud et au sud-ouest de Damas leur est interdite.

الخامس، يتعلّق بالمعلومات الواردة من سوريا، حيث أبلغ الإسرائيليون حكومة أحمد الشرع، بما اعتبروه قراراً نهائياً، بأنّ كل المناطق الواقعة على بُعد عشرة كيلومترات إلى الجنوب من دمشق، وصولاً إلى الحدود مع الجولان والأردن وصعوداً حتى السويداء، يجب أن تكون منطقة خالية من أي وجود لقوّات سورية مقاتلة، بينما يُسمح بوجود شرطة محلّية شرط الاتفاق مسبقاً على كافة التفاصيل المتعلّقة بالعدد، ونوع التحرّك، وطبيعة العمليات. كما أكّد الجانب الإسرائيلي أنه سيستمرّ في تبنّي مبدأ «حرّية الحركة» لمواجهة أي تهديد، وأصرّ على على أن يدير بنفسه ما يُسمّى بالممرّ الإنساني الممتدّ من القنيطرة باتجاه السويداء.

#new_middle_east

Over 3,000 extrajudicial executions reported in Syria since Sharaa’s rise to power
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/33017

Plus de 3000 exécutions sommaires depuis l’arrivée au pouvoir d’al-Jolani...

In the nine months since former Al-Qaeda commander Ahmad al-Sharaa took power in Syria, over 3,000 people have been extrajudicially executed by Syrian security forces and affiliated armed factions, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on 7 September.

Between 8 December of last year and 6 September, SOHR documented the deaths of 10,672 people across the country in acts of violence and violations by local and foreign parties, including 3,020 people who were extrajudicially executed.

“The fall of the Assad regime also coincided with unprecedented security chaos in all Syrian areas,” SOHR noted, resulting in the proliferation of “assassinations and political and sectarian-based massacres.”

The majority of the victims have been from the Alawite and Druze religious minorities in the Syrian coast and in Suwayda, who are viewed as apostates deserving to be killed by the extremists filling the ranks of President Sharaa’s security forces.

#new_middle_east

Syrian authorities give Alawite families in Damascus neighborhood 72 hours to flee homes
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/32855

#new_middle_east

For the third consecutive day, Alawite residents of the Al-Sumaria neighborhood in Damascus are under siege and facing the threat of forced eviction from their homes by the Syrian government’s General Security forces.

According to local sources speaking with Syrian journalist Scharo Maroof on 29 August, authorities in Damascus have issued a 72-hour deadline for Alawite residents of the neighborhood to vacate their homes. Around 100 families have already left the neighborhood, fearing legal and physical repercussions.

Syrian authorities launched a security campaign in Al-Sumaria on 27 August, stating it was necessary to review residents’ documents that confirm the ownership of their homes and to conduct a census of residents within the neighborhood, Al-Akhbar reported.

The authorities said the internal security forces had arrested several residents, without providing additional details.

According to US academic Joshua Landis, a group of 600 armed men wearing masks entered the neighborhood on 27 August and started to beat men, women, and children violently.

They arrested up to 100 men and ordered residents to leave within 48 hours while threatening to use bulldozers to destroy homes over the heads of those who refused. They insulted residents, calling them “Alawite pigs” and the women “whores,” Landis added.

The armed forces also locked up about 400 men and boys, including a 10-year-old child and the local mukhtar (neighborhood head), in a residential building, beating them and yelling sectarian insults at them.

“This is an ethnic cleansing of potentially thousands of people taking place now,” he stated.

A source from Al-Sumaria speaking with The Cradle stated that General Security forces are marking Alawite homes with an “X” and homes of other sects with an “O” in preparation to expel Alawite families.

The source added that the armed men who entered were carrying swords and physically assaulting women.

Al-Akhbar added that the recent events in Al-Sumaria have raised concerns among residents in other areas of Damascus, including Mezzeh 86, Ash al-Warwar, Al-Amin Street, and Zein al-Abidin, as well as Jaramana and Sahnaya, which are inhabited by Alawite, Shia, and Druze minorities.

A source in Al-Sumaria speaking with Al-Akhbar said that the sectarian slogans chanted by the armed men when evicting residents from their homes suggest the government is trying to get rid of Syrian minorities living in the capital.

EXCLUSIVE: The US-Israeli plot to partition Syria’s West
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/32516

#new_middle_east

“Israel seeks to exploit Syria’s sectarian and ethnic divisions to use minorities as political and military tools, serving its plan to partition the country and open two strategic corridors: an eastern one linking Suwayda to Hasakah, and a western one running from Syria’s coast to Afrin, securing multi-front influence and encircling the Turkish axis from within.”

“Western Syria” may remain in the shadows or step fully into the open, but its trajectory is unmistakable: a deliberate dismantling of Syria’s territorial cohesion, draped in the language of minority protection and enforced through foreign-backed militias and political fronts.

For Damascus, Beirut, and the wider region, this is no distant or hypothetical threat, but an active campaign already reshaping the map to the advantage of outside powers.

Syrie : accords de plus de 14 mds USD d’investissements dans des projets d’infrastructures - L’Orient-Le Jour
▻https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1472603/syrie-accords-de-plus-de-14-mds-usd-dinvestissements-dans-des-projets

Plusieurs accords d’investissements dépassant un total de 14 milliards de dollars ont été signés lors d’une cérémonie officielle en Syrie mercredi, concernant notamment l’aéroport de Damas et d’autres infrastructures immobilières ou de transports, selon les médias d’État.

Depuis le renversement de Bachar el-Assad en décembre dernier, les nouvelles autorités syriennes oeuvrent pour attirer des investissements pour la reconstruction du pays, ravagé par près de 14 ans de guerre civile.

« Nous annonçons un ensemble de douze projets stratégiques majeurs pour un total de 14 milliards de dollars », a déclaré Talal al-Hilali, chef de l’Autorité syrienne d’investissement, lors de la cérémonie qui s’est tenue dans le palais présidentiel.

Parmi ceux-ci figurent un projet d’investissement de 4 milliards de dollars pour l’aéroport de Damas, 2 Mds USD pour la construction d’un métro dans la capitale, ainsi que plus de 2 Mds USD pour un centre commercial et la construction de deux tours, a-t-il précisé. Les projets « s’étendront à travers la Syrie et garantiront un changement qualitatif dans les infrastructures et la vie économique », a assuré M. Hilali.

Le président intérimaire syrien Ahmed el-Chareh et le représentant spécial des États-Unis pour la Syrie, Tom Barrack, étaient présents à la cérémonie de signature, a rapporté l’agence de presse officielle Sana. M. Barrack a félicité les autorités syriennes pour cette « nouvelle grande réalisation », estimant qu’elles concouraient à l’émergence d’une « nouvelle plaque tournante » pour le « commerce et la prospérité », selon l’agence.

Les Nations unies ont estimé les coûts de reconstruction post-conflit à plus de 400 milliards de dollars. Plusieurs autres investissements ont déjà été annoncés. Le mois dernier, l’Arabie Saoudite a signé des accords d’investissements et de partenariats majeurs avec la Syrie, pour une valeur de 6,4 milliards de dollars.

Également en juillet, la Syrie a conclu un accord de 800 millions de dollars avec l’entreprise DP World basée aux Émirats arabes unis pour développer le port de Tartous, ont rapporté les médias d’État. Par ailleurs, le pays a signé en mai un accord énergétique de 7 milliards de dollars avec un consortium d’entreprises qataries, turques et américaines afin de relancer son secteur énergétique.

Retour sur investissement dans le #new_middle_east

Is the Trump ‘mystique’ broken? Does MAGA sense betrayal? — Strategic Culture
▻https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/07/29/is-the-trump-mystique-broken-does-maga-sense-betrayal

Netanyahu is (perhaps consequentially) on a hurried rampage to impose ‘Greater Israel’. ‘Impose’, because the original Abraham Accords were ostensibly an agreement to normalise with Israel. Today, under military threat, Arab states are being compelled to accept Israeli terms – and subjugation to Israel.

It represents a travesty of the former Israeli notion of an alliance of minorities. Today, the ‘minorities’ (sometimes fractured majorities) are deliberately being set one against the other. The U.S. and Israel haveagain introduced ISIS 2.0 into the Middle East. The executions of Alawites, Christians and Shia in Syria are the direct consequence.

The prospect is of a devastated Middle East, with only the Gulf monarchies serving as obedient islands amid the wider landscape of internecine war, ethnic killing and Balkanised polities.

The new Middle East …?

#new_middle_east

Sharaa-led secret committee shakes down Syrian tycoons for $1.6bn : Report
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/32156

Main-basse sur les fortunes privées en Syrie. Mérite vraiment lecture si vous vous intéressez à la question.

A secretive committee under Syria’s US-backed leadership has quietly taken control of over $1.6 billion in assets formerly held by businessmen linked to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, according to a Reuters investigation published on 24 July.

The asset takeover, conducted outside public view, is part of an economic overhaul directed by Hazem al-Sharaa, the older brother of Syria’s self-appointed president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as ISIS and Al-Qaeda commander Abu Mohammed al-Julani.

The government has not publicly acknowledged the committee’s existence, yet it wields sweeping influence over business and investment in the country.

The committee is headed by Abraham Succarieh, an Australian of Lebanese descent, who is known by several aliases, including Abu Mariam and Ibrahim bin Mas’ud. Succarieh, sanctioned in Australia for alleged terrorism financing, left Brisbane in 2013 shortly before his brother carried out a suicide bombing in Syria.

Sources told Reuters the committee has negotiated directly with sanctioned and unsanctioned tycoons, demanding that they hand over substantial parts of their wealth in exchange for immunity and permission to resume operations.

Among the most significant targets was “The Group,” a conglomerate of over 100 companies formed under Assad’s economic czar, Ibrahim, and estimated to control up to 30 percent of Syria’s economic output by 2024.

One key target was Syriatel, the country’s main telecoms operator, now controlled by the committee through a newly appointed signatory.

Cham Wings, Syria’s only private airline, was also restructured and rebranded as Fly Cham. Owner Issam Shammout surrendered 45% of the airline, paid $50 million, and transferred two aircraft to Syrian Air in exchange for immunity.

Business magnate Mohammed Hamsho, whose assets once exceeded $640 million, gave up 80 percent of his holdings under a similar deal. He retained about $150 million, while some family members maintained ownership of smaller companies.

Hazem al-Sharaa, who worked as a former PepsiCo manager in Iraq while his brother led Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate, now plays a central role in guiding these economic transitions. He holds no official position but reportedly has wide authority over Syria’s business affairs.

The consolidation of power in the hands of anonymous or foreign-born figures has raised concerns among diplomats and analysts. Four senior Western officials warned that such opacity could deter foreign investment and complicate Syria’s reintegration into the global economy.

#new_middle_east

L’enquête de Reuters : ▻https://www.reuters.com/investigations/syria-is-secretly-reshaping-its-economy-presidents-brother-is-charge-2025-0
(à lire absolument, y compris si l’article essaie de souligner le « bon côté » de mesures qui font un peu penser aux méthodes de MBA en Arabie saoudite lors de sa prise de pouvoir et qui vont vite donner aux Syriens encore plus de regrets du passé...)

US envoy warns Lebanon : ’Disarm Hezbollah or risk Syrian occupation’
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31924

On vit une époque formidable ! #new_middle_east

En clair, les USA disent aux Libanais :si vous ne vous soumettez pas au dictat israélien, on vous mettra à votre place via nos supplétifs syriens...

Lebanon risks being invaded and occupied by Syria and Israel unless Beirut acts to disarm Hezbollah, US special envoy Thomas Barrack warned on 12 July.

Speaking to The National, Barrack, who is the US special envoy for Syria and ambassador to Turkiye, stressed Lebanon faces an existential threat" from the two US allies on its borders, while urging Beirut to act quickly to disarm Hezbollah.

“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical name for greater Syria, which included Lebanon and Palestine.

“Syrians say Lebanon is our beach resort. So we need to move. And I know how frustrated the Lebanese people are. It frustrates me,” he added.

In December, the former Al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered Damascus, bringing Syria under US, Israeli, and Turkish influence.

Syria’s new government, led by former ISIS commander Ahmad al-Sharaa, has reportedly demanded it be given the Sunni-majority city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon while relinquishing the Golan Heights as part of a peace deal with Israel.

Last month, Barrack presented Lebanese officials with a proposal that calls for reconstruction aid and an end to Israel’s attacks if Hezbollah gives up its weapons.

The war between Israel and Hezbollah ended in November with a US-brokered ceasefire. But Israel continues to carry out air strikes and assassinations throughout Lebanon. Israeli ground forces also occupy five points in the south of the country.

الحكومة اعتبرته “خطأ تقنيا” بعد جدل عم البلد.. وموجة استنكار فلسطينية وسورية واسعة بعد إدراج صفة “أجنبي” للاجئين الفلسطينيين في السجلات الرسمية.. “لسنا أجانب” | رأي اليوم
▻https://www.raialyoum.com/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%83%d9%88%d9%85%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d8%b9%d8%aa%d8%a8%d8%b1

https://www.raialyoum.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-07-11_13-03-04_077809.jpeg

Les réfugiés palestiniens en Syrie et leurs descendants (la famille de Rima Hassanpar exemple) découvrent que dans la nouvelle Syrie "révolutionnaire", ils sont désormais des "étrangersrésidents". Rassurez-vous, ce n’dest qu’une erreur administrative, imputable du reste à l’administration de l’ancien régime... #new_middle_east

أثار تصنيف اللاجئين الفلسطينيين في سوريا كـ”مقيمين أجانب” في بعض الحالات التي ظهرت في سجلات النفوس المدنية، ردود فعل غاضبة وموجة استنكار واسعة، وسط مطالبات رسمية وشعبية بتوضيح هذه التغييرات الإدارية التي وصفت بأنها تشكل انتهاكاً للهوية القانونية والتاريخية لفلسطينيي سوريا، الذين يعيش معظمهم في البلاد منذ النكبة عام 1948.
وكان تلفزيون سوريا قد نقل عن مصدر حكومي أن ما جرى من تعديلات في بيانات اللاجئين الفلسطينيين في بعض السجلات، يعود إلى “خطأ تقني غير مقصود”، خصوصاً في محافظة إدلب، حيث جرى خلال عملية دمج السجلات المحلية مع السجل المركزي، إدراج الفلسطينيين ضمن خانة “المهاجرين” أو “المقيمين” عوضا عن “اللاجئين”، نتيجة لكون سجل إدلب المدني كان مفصولاً زمن “النظام البائد”، على حد تعبير المحامي الفلسطيني غياث دبور، الذي أكد أن ما حدث “إشكال فني طبيعي لا يحتمل التأويلات”، وأن الجهود جارية لتصحيحه.

The Blogs: Trump and Syria’s New Strongman Share a Billboard in Damascus — and a Message of ‘Peace’ | Mikheil Khachidze | The Times of Israel
▻https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/trump-and-syrias-new-strongman-share-a-billboard-in-damascus-an

https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/blogs/uploads/2025/07/download-1.jpg

A billboard unveiled in central Damascus this week is raising eyebrows across the Middle East and beyond. It features Syria’s newly installed president, Ahmed al-Sharasa [sic !], beside Donald Trump, with an English-language caption that reads:

Strong Leaders Make Peace. The Syrian People Thank You.

The poster appears to be part of a broader campaign by the new Syrian regime to legitimize itself internationally, following more than a decade of isolation and civil war. Yet the public pairing of Trump — a controversial figure in the Middle East — with a former jihadist commander raises pressing questions about the direction of Syrian politics and its implications for Israel and the region.

#new_middle_east

Si vous êtes maso, ▻https://c4ssa.org

Syria’s al-Sharaa met Israeli security official in UAE: Exclusive | Al Mayadeen English
▻https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/syria-s-al-sharaa-met-israeli-security-official-in-uae--excl

Syria’s al-Sharaa met Israeli security official in UAE: Exclusive

Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa secretly met Israeli official Tzachi Hanegbi in Abu Dhabi, with the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Zayed mediating talks on the occupied Golan and demilitarized zones.

Diplomatic sources have revealed to Al Mayadeen that Syrian interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa held a secret meeting on Wednesday with the Israeli occupation’s National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi. The high-level encounter was reportedly coordinated directly by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.

#new_middle_east

إعلام عبري : سوريا تطلب ثلث مساحة الجولان المحتل ومناطق لبنانية كشرط رئيسي لفتح باب التطبيع مع إسرائيل | رأي اليوم
▻https://www.raialyoum.com/%d8%a5%d8%b9%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b

Du grand délire. Selon Ynet,les pourparlers entre Israël et la Syrie comprendraient des concessions auu Golan (chaque pays obtient 1/3 et le tiers qui reste serait loué.
Le plus comique (?), la "restitution de Tripoli, deuxième ville « sunnite » du Liban à la Syrie.
Le plus cynique ; le droit pour Israël de faire passer par la Styrie et la Turquie une canalisation pour pomper l’eau de l’Euphrate.
Il y en a qui ont trop lu la Bible !

وكشف أن هناك سيناريوهين مطروحين حالياً لما يسمى “التسوية السياسية المقبولة بين إسرائيل وسوريا”؛ السيناريو الأول يقوم على أن “تحتفظ إسرائيل بمناطق استراتيجية في مرتفعات الجولان تعادل ثلث أراضيه، وتسلم ثلثاً لسوريا، وتستأجر الثلث الآخر منها لمدة 25 عاماً”.
أما السيناريو الآخر، فيتمثل بأن “تحتفظ إسرائيل بثلثي الجولان، وتُسلم الثلث المتبقي إلى سوريا، مع إمكانية تأجيره”.
ووفقاً للسيناريو الثاني، سيتم “تسليم” مدينة طرابلس اللبنانية، القريبة من الحدود اللبنانية-السورية، وربما مناطق لبنانية أخرى في شمال لبنان وسهل البقاع، إلى سوريا، بحسب قوله.
وأشار المصدر إلى أن سوريا تسعى إلى استعادة ما أسماه “السيادة” على طرابلس، وهي واحدة من خمس مناطق اقتُطعت من سوريا لتأسيس “دولة لبنان الكبير” خلال الانتداب الفرنسي.
وأضاف: “يجب أيضاً أن تشمل التسوية تسليم طرابلس ومناطق لبنانية أخرى ذات أغلبية سنية إلى سوريا، بشرط السماح لإسرائيل بتمديد خط أنابيب لنقل المياه من الفرات إلى إسرائيل، وذلك في إطار اتفاق مائي يشمل تركيا وسوريا وإسرائيل”.

الشرع : سوريا لا تقبل التجزئة ولا التقسيم
▻https://www.al-akhbar.com/syria/848780/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%B9--%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%84%D8%

https://media.al-akhbar.com/store/archive/image/2025/7/3/e653bc72-503b-40c7-b1cc-fd04e35fdd31.jpg?width=1200

La Syrie célèbre sa révolution en changeant son « identité visuelle ». C’est une priorité ! #new_middle_east

New Turkiye-Syria deal reopens direct land routes, boosts Gulf trade links
▻https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31645

#new_middle_east

Turkiye and Syria have signed a new memorandum of understanding to resume direct overland transportation, marking a significant step in restoring bilateral trade ties disrupted by years of war. Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced the agreement on 29 June during the Global Transport Connectivity Forum held in Istanbul.

The newly signed deal revives the 2004 International Road Transport Agreement between the two countries, allowing trucks to cross the border without the need for transferring cargo to new trucks on the opposite side to resume the journey.

“Cargo transfer at border crossings will end, allowing goods to be transported directly between Turkiye and Syria without the need for transshipment,” Uraloglu told Anadolu Agency. This move is expected to significantly reduce costs, enhance trade efficiency, and simplify logistical processes, the minister added.

Beyond facilitating bilateral trade, the agreement also enables transit transport routes from Turkiye through Syria to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and other Gulf nations. This expanded access is set to bolster Turkiye’s strategic ambitions to connect with Gulf economies via the Middle Corridor—an overland trade route linking Asia to Europe.

Exclusive: Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-israel-direct-talks-focused-security-sources-say-2025-05-27

L’ex-ambassadeur des États-Unis en Syrie affirme : « Ahmed Al-Charaa a été formé pour succéder à Assad » (Vidéo) - Tunisie
▻https://www.tunisienumerique.com/lex-ambassadeur-des-etats-unis-en-syrie-affirme-ahmed-al-charaa-a-

L’ancien ambassadeur des États-Unis en Syrie, Robert Ford, a affirmé que des acteurs internationaux, incluant les États-Unis et le Royaume-Uni, misent désormais sur le groupe Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTC) dirigé par Ahmed Al-Charaa— connu auparavant sous le nom d’Abou Mohammad al-Joulani — en tant qu’alternative politique crédible au régime de Bachar al-Assad.

Cette déclaration a été faite lors d’une conférence organisée le 5 mai par le Conseil des relations extérieures à Baltimore, dans l’État américain du Maryland.

Des entraînements intensifs dirigés par des experts occidentaux

Selon Robert Ford, la transformation de Hayat Tahrir al-Cham d’un groupe armé islamiste en acteur politique s’est opérée par le biais de programmes de formation stratégique. Ces sessions, selon lui, ont été encadrées par des diplomates, experts et agents de renseignement britanniques et américains.

Il a précisé que les entraînements ont porté sur des volets politiques et stratégiques, et se sont déroulés dans la province d’Idleb, sans fournir de dates précises.

Trois rencontres confidentielles avec le leader de HTC

L’ex-ambassadeur a également révélé avoir personnellement rencontré Ahmed al-Char’a à trois reprises dans le cadre de cette mission. Deux de ces rencontres ont eu lieu en 2023 et 2024, avant son entrée à Damas, dans le but de le former.

La troisième rencontre, en janvier 2025, s’est tenue dans le palais présidentiel syrien et a duré dix jours, signe selon lui du sérieux de cette initiative.

–Un choix stratégique basé sur l’organisation du groupe-

Ford a justifié le choix de Hayat Tahrir al-Cham par son haut degré d’organisation comparé aux autres factions de l’opposition syrienne. Il a souligné que malgré le passé controversé du groupe, notamment ses liens avec al-Qaïda, les puissances occidentales le considèrent aujourd’hui comme une force disciplinée et structurée, apte à jouer un rôle politique dans l’avenir du pays.

–Une réorientation majeure de la stratégie occidentale en Syrie ?-

Ces déclarations marquent un tournant dans la lecture occidentale du conflit syrien. Alors que les efforts diplomatiques avec le régime d’Assad semblent dans l’impasse, l’option de miser sur une opposition réorganisée et formée politiquement pourrait relancer les dynamiques internationales autour de la transition syrienne.

Aucune réaction officielle n’a encore été formulée par les autorités syriennes ni par les gouvernements occidentaux évoqués dans ce rapport.

#new_middle_east

Report: Israel holding talks with Syria on Sharaa regime joining Abraham Accords | The Times of Israel
▻https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-israel-holding-talks-with-syria-on-sharaa-regime-joining-abrah

La révolution ? Bon, l’info vient du côté israélien... #new_middle_east

Israel has been holding secret talks with Syrian officials in recent days, including on the possibility of the new regime joining the Abraham Accords, according to a report Thursday, a day after US President Trump invited new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to join the accords and normalize ties with Israel.

The talks are being mediated by the United Arab Emirates, Channel 12 news said, also referring to unspecified wider regional moves being advanced by the United Arab Emirates. A Haaretz report, by contrast, said the talks were being mediated by Qatar and had been going on for months.

Sharaa confirmed last week that security-related talks were being held through mediators, though he did not comment on potential diplomatic relations.

Channel 12 said one meeting was held in recent days in Azerbaijan, where Israel was represented by the chief of the IDF Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basyuk. He met with representatives from the new Syrian government, with Turkish representatives also present, the report said.

Trump on Wednesday urged Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, as the two leaders met in Riyadh for the first direct talks between leaders of the countries in 25 years.

Donald Trump annonce la levée des sanctions américaines contre la Syrie et durcit le ton contre l’Iran
▻https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/donald-trump-annonce-la-levee-des-sanctions-americaines-contre-la-syrie-202

Quelque chose de très spécial... #new_middle_east On y est presque...

Donald Trump a annoncé la levée des sanctions américaines contre la Syrie prises à l’époque du régime Assad, et sa rencontre dès mercredi avec le président syrien Ahmed al-Charaa à Riyad. « La Syrie, ils ont eu leur dose de distorsions, de guerre, de tueries depuis de nombreuses années », a dit le président américain pendant un forum sur l’investissement en Arabie Saoudite, où il est en visite officielle. « C’est pourquoi mon administration a déjà pris les premières mesures pour rétablir des relations normales entre les États-Unis et la Syrie pour la première fois depuis plus d’une décennie », a dit Trump. « Les sanctions ont été brutales et paralysantes et ont eu un impact vraiment important.... à l’époque. Mais maintenant le moment est arrivé pour la Syrie de se révéler » , a-t-il ajouté. « C’est pourquoi je dis : Bonne chance, Syrie. Montrez-nous quelque chose de très spécial ».