Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

What Could Follow the U.S. Surprise in Syria?

A former CIA station chief has some thoughts

What Could Follow the U.S. Surprise in Syria?

U.S. President Donald Trump (1st L), Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (C) and Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R, front) attend a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump held a meeting on Wednesday with Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss normalizing bilateral ties, while expressing his willingness to reach a deal with Iran.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined Trump and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud online during the meeting, Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency reported. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Xinhua)

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – President Donald Trump made a number of headlines this week as he led an impressive delegation of government and private sector executives to the Middle East but it was a meeting with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and a U.S. announcement that it is lifting sanctions on Syria, that came as perhaps the biggest surprise and offered a strong indicator of how relationships in the Middle East are being reshaped under the president’s second administration.

The move is a big deal in part because until recently, Syria has been an ally and has served as a key strategic location for both Russia and Iran to operate.  Following the collapse of the Syrian regime, those operations in Syria are believed to have been significantly reduced.

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

A Good NATO Summit, Though Russia Won a Round

EXPERT Q&A — NATO leaders convened in The Hague this week for a summit aiming to strengthen the alliance's defenses, with the ever encroaching threat [...] More

NATO Wins Will Have an Impact

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT Q&A — NATO leaders convened at The Hague this week and agreed to raise the alliance’s defense spending target to 5% GDP, marking [...] More

Dead Drop: June 27

THIS WEEK: SURPRISES, SECRETS AND SPY COCKTAILS: This week’s best collection of national security gossip is filled with surprises, secrets and a [...] More

NATO Lures Trump Back - at a Cost

NATO Lures Trump Back - at a Cost

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – The stakes at this week’s NATO summit were sky-high – support for Ukraine, a shoring up of Europe’s defenses, and the [...] More

Report for Friday, June 27, 2025

8:11 America/Chicago Friday, June 27 [...] More

The Zbig Biography: No Small Feat!

BOOK REVIEW: Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Great Power Prophet by Edward LuceAvid Reader Press / Simon & SchusterReviewed by: [...] More

Report for Thursday, June 26, 2025

8:18 America/Chicago Thursday, June 26 [...] More

North Korea’s Sticking Points: Abduction and Uranium Enrichment

OPINION — In September 2002, North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-il, admitted to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that North Korea had [...] More

Report for Wednesday, June 25, 2025

9:20 AM America/New York Wednesday, June 25 [...] More

{{}}