Middle East

Israel and Syria agree to ceasefire, US ambassador to Turkey says

The Syrian Defense Ministry ordered Bedouin militias to leave the city of Sweida, after which Syrian security forces would enter the city in order to implement the ceasefire provisions.

 US special envoy for Syria, the ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025 for the first time since 2011.

Antony Blinken: US, partners 85% done on Gaza ceasefire before Trump

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, December 5, 2024 (illustration).

Bodies and looted homes: Syria's Druze reeling after Sweida bloodshed

 A person reacts as casualties from recent clashes in Syria's Sweida province receive treatment at a field medical point, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Deraa, Syria July 18, 2025.

Iran rushing to rearm Mideast terror proxies after IDF, US strikes on Tehran - WSJ

 (Illustrative) Protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, hold up weapons as they rally to show support to Palestinians and Lebanon's Hezbollah in Sanaa, Yemen November 8, 2024.

UN pushes for Syrian gov't to end violence against Druze in Sweida

In his statement, Turk condemned the mass displacement and acts of violence in Sweida, including reports of killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property, and looting of homes.

UNITED NATIONS High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk holds a news conference in Damascus, in January. The UN would have condemned Moses and Aaron as war criminals, says the writer.

Sa'ar greenlights aid to Syrian Druze as Shara'a's forces redeploy to Sweida

Yesterday, Israel announced that a ceasefire had been reached in the area, and that the Syrian forces were expected to withdraw from areas with Druze populations.

 Syrian security forces walk together along a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

Israel airstrike hits vicinity of Syria's Sweida, Syrian state news agency says

Despite reports indicating the strike was carried out by Israel, Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military had not conducted the strikes.

 Smoke rises over over Al-Mazra'a village, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Sweida, Syria July 18, 2025.

US did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria, State Dept says

Bruce declined to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary.

 State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during her first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, US, March 6, 2025.

Netanyahu confirms ceasefire, Syrian withdrawal from Sweida due to 'forceful action'

"I instructed the IDF to act with force because the Damascus regime sent its army south of the capital and massacred the Druze," Netanyahu said.

 An Israeli soldier holds a megaphone as Israeli-Druze gather, near the ceasefire line amid the conflict in the Druze areas in Syria, July 16, 2025.

Syrian detente hopes dim as president accuses Israel of sowing ‘chaos and destruction’ with strikes

“The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities,” Shaara said the situation was easing with the intervention of the US, Arab, and Turkish mediators.

 Druze residents protest near the Israeli-Syrian border fence in solidarity with their community in Syria, July 16, 2025.

US strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites - NBC

The two other facilities that the US struck were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months.

 Fire of Israeli attack on Shahran Oil depot is seen following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025.

Israel's attacks on Damascus hinder chemical weapons search, Syrian official says

The OPCW will hold an urgent meeting on Tuesday next week to discuss the situation and impact of the Israeli attacks.

 Damage around Qamishli International Airport area, in Syria, December 10, 2024

Drone attack targets Tawke oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan

A drone attack targeted an oilfield in Iraqi Kurdistan this Thursday, in what represents a big hit that lowers oil output between 140,000 and 150,000 barrels per day.

Smoke rises after a drone attack targeted oil facilities in the Zakho area of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Iraq July 16, 2025.

Western diplomats were within meters of Israeli strikes in Damascus, sources say

No one in the convoy was injured, and it continued on its way, the people said, declining to give further details on the nationalities or number of those involved.

 Smoke rises after strikes on Syria's defense ministry in Damascus, according to Al Jazeera TV, in Damascus, Syria July 16, 2025.