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Spotlight | Syria, United States
The discreet non-profit behind Donald Trump's Syrian U-turn

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (left), US President Donald Trump (centre) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) on 14 May 2025 in Riyadh. © Imago/APAimages via Reuters Connect

The US president's announcement that the sanctions against Damascus were being lifted marked a sudden shift of his Syrian policy. Behind the scenes, this change of heart appears to have been strongly backed by the Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity, a pressure group whose interests range from politics to real estate. [...]

Published on 20/05/2025 at 04:00 GMT Reading time 3 minutes Fanny Alarcon

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Syria country
United States country
Ahmed al-Sharaa public figure
Bashar al Assad public figure
Donald Trump public figure
Hakan Fidan public figure
Mohammed bin Salman al-Saoud public figure
Public Investment Fund organisation
Recep Tayyip Erdogan public figure
Tulsi Gabbard public figure
Alia Natafgi
Asaad al-Shibani
Cory Mills
Kingdom Holding Co
Marlin Stutzman
Mohammed al-Joulani
Syrian American Alliance
Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity
Tarek Naemo

Syria
Israeli-Syrian normalisation talks take a hit

From Damascus to Tel Aviv, via Washington and Abu Dhabi, talks on the normalisation of relations between Israel and Syria had been in full swing for several weeks. That was until Israeli air strikes this week on Syrian infrastructure, which have now called the process into question.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 18.07.2025

Syrian armed forces headquarters after the latest Israeli strikes on Damascus.

Spotlight | Yemen
Hadramaut region on war footing amid pressure from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi

New armed groups are emerging in Yemen's oil-rich Hadramaut region. The two rivals backing them, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are reigniting their wars of influence, under the watchful eye of Turkey and Qatar.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 10.07.2025

Al-Mukalla, capital of the Yemeni province of Hadramaout.

Spymaster | Syria
Ahmed al-Dalati, a shrewd strategist and expert secret negotiator

The recently appointed governor's rise in post-revolutionary Syria has been meteoric. New president Ahmed al-Sharaa has entrusted this former adversary, turned close ally, with the most delicate secret diplomatic missions.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 27.06.2025

A rally in Damascus following a speech by President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the lifting of US sanctions on Syria, on 15 May 2025.

Syria
French business delegation's Damascus visit cancelled

Israel's military offensive against Iran, which began on June 13, has led to the cancellation of a French business delegation's trip to Damascus scheduled for this week.

Subscribers only Corporate Intelligence 17.06.2025

France
Trump's special envoy for the Middle East and Africa expected in Paris

After closing a tour of the Maghreb, the details of which are still being confirmed, the American president's adviser, businessman Massad Boulos, is due to visit Paris on 19 June to discuss the region's most pressing issues.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 13.06.2025

Massad Boulos, the US president's adviser for the Middle East and Africa, in Kigali, Rwanda, on 8 April 2025.

Russia, United States
Rostec chiefs hire influential lobbyist in bid to escape US sanctions

Sergey Chemezov and his right-hand man Vasily Brovko are cosying up to the Trump administration in an effort to have sanctions on them lifted. They have enlisted the help of lobbyists with a strong network in Washington.

Subscribers only Corporate Intelligence 03.06.2025

Sergei Chemezov, the head of Russian industrial conglomerate Rostec.

The Corporate Intelligence Village Voice
Westexec, Eutelsat, Audere, Snapchat security

Appointments, financial results, new contracts: every Wednesday, we report on events big and small that matter in the global corporate intelligence community.

WashingtonWestExec recruits former CIA station chief

ParisGeneral Serge Cholley to leave Eutelsat's Defence and Security Division

DamascusAudere interested in Syrian market

WashingtonFormer Snapchat security director goes solo after stints with the NSA and DNI

Subscribers only Corporate Intelligence 28.05.2025

Spotlight | Syria
Syria's Great Game: despite Trump fanfare, strategic headaches remain

Despite intense US diplomatic pressure, the issues of Syria's Kurds, Russian bases and foreign fighters remain under discussion between all involved parties. Their resolution will inevitably pass via Ankara, much to the chagrin of Tel Aviv, Paris and the Gulf states.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 16.05.2025

The leader of the Syrian transition, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met US President Donald Trump in Riyadh on 14 May 2025, in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud (MbS).

Syria
EU entrusts ex-Lebanese spymaster with security in Syria

A Lebanese firm led by a former local intelligence chief will be providing security to the European diplomatic missions in Damascus.

Subscribers only Corporate Intelligence 21.04.2025

Syria
Syria's private security boom

As a new era of instability dawns in post-Assad Syria, security groups are flocking to the country to offer their services protecting embassies, the media and prospecting companies. A British-Emirati firm claims to have been given a licence to operate on the ground.

Subscribers only Corporate Intelligence 14.04.2025

The security situation in post-Bashar al-Assad Syria remains tense. Syrian forces search for weapons stashes in Homs, on 23 March 2025.

Syria
Paris finalises Damascus embassy dream team

The French foreign ministry is putting together the team that will soon move into its reopened embassy in Damascus to begin work with Syria's new rulers. The Kurdish issue has not been forgotten.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 24.03.2025

The French flag flies in the courtyard of France's embassy complex in Damascus on 3 January 2025.

Syria
ISIS-linked Syria detention camps face uncertain future following aid cuts

Sources close to US non-profit Blumont Inc, which manages two camps in northeast Syria, say non-US donor financing is insufficient to sustain its work there. The Trump administration gave the group a 90-day reprieve on its aid cut-off in January, while putting pressure on allies to help reduce camp numbers.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 18.03.2025

Spotlight | France, Russia, Syria, Turkey, United States
French security diplomacy in top gear for Syria's great game

From secret visits to high-level videoconferences, French security diplomacy has been finding its way among the major players ahead of a major Syria conference in Paris on 13 February. While Russia is trying to get back into the country, some Gulf nations are readying an alternative to Ahmed al-Sharaa's rule.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 04.02.2025

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot (centre), his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock (left) and the new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on 3 January 2025.

Syria
Ahmed al-Sharaa shaping Damascus's new intelligence structure

Syria's new leader wants to restructure the former regime's intelligence services, and to do so he can count on spymaster Anas Khattab, who already oversaw intelligence in Idlib.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 06.01.2025

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus on 30 December 2024.

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United States country
Ahmed al-Sharaa public figure
Bashar al Assad public figure
Donald Trump public figure
Hakan Fidan public figure
Mohammed bin Salman al-Saoud public figure
Public Investment Fund organisation
Recep Tayyip Erdogan public figure
Tulsi Gabbard public figure
Alia Natafgi
Asaad al-Shibani
Cory Mills
Kingdom Holding Co
Marlin Stutzman
Mohammed al-Joulani
Syrian American Alliance
Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity
Tarek Naemo

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Syria
Israeli-Syrian normalisation talks take a hit

Spotlight | Yemen
Hadramaut region on war footing amid pressure from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi

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China, Europe, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States The geopolitical power plays in Earth observation

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Mohammed bin Salman al-Saoud

CIA

DGSE

Guoanbu

Spotlight | Syria, United States The discreet non-profit behind Donald Trump's Syrian U-turn

This article may be accessed by subscribers

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Set up keyword notifications

Syria Israeli-Syrian normalisation talks take a hit

Spotlight | Yemen Hadramaut region on war footing amid pressure from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi

Spymaster | Syria Ahmed al-Dalati, a shrewd strategist and expert secret negotiator

Syria French business delegation's Damascus visit cancelled

France Trump's special envoy for the Middle East and Africa expected in Paris

Russia, United States Rostec chiefs hire influential lobbyist in bid to escape US sanctions

The Corporate Intelligence Village Voice Westexec, Eutelsat, Audere, Snapchat security

WashingtonWestExec recruits former CIA station chief

ParisGeneral Serge Cholley to leave Eutelsat's Defence and Security Division

DamascusAudere interested in Syrian market

WashingtonFormer Snapchat security director goes solo after stints with the NSA and DNI

Spotlight | Syria Syria's Great Game: despite Trump fanfare, strategic headaches remain

Syria EU entrusts ex-Lebanese spymaster with security in Syria

Syria Syria's private security boom

Syria Paris finalises Damascus embassy dream team

Syria ISIS-linked Syria detention camps face uncertain future following aid cuts

Spotlight | France, Russia, Syria, Turkey, United States French security diplomacy in top gear for Syria's great game

Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa shaping Damascus's new intelligence structure

Set up keyword notifications

About Intelligence Online

Subscription

Intelligence Online on social media

Indigo Publications' websites

China, Europe, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States
The geopolitical power plays in Earth observation

China, Europe
Chinese influence and interference in Western Europe

Europe, Russia
Chechen separatism, the anti-Putin trump card

Ukraine
Jamming wars

Central America, China, South America
Beijing on the offensive in Washington's spheres of influence

Insiders | China
Security, propaganda and the PLA: Xi Jinping forges new networks of influence

Insiders | Qatar
Barzan Holdings, Qatar's defence industry giant springing up out of the desert

Spotlight | Syria, United States
The discreet non-profit behind Donald Trump's Syrian U-turn

Syria
Israeli-Syrian normalisation talks take a hit

Spotlight | Yemen
Hadramaut region on war footing amid pressure from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi

Spymaster | Syria
Ahmed al-Dalati, a shrewd strategist and expert secret negotiator

Syria
French business delegation's Damascus visit cancelled

France
Trump's special envoy for the Middle East and Africa expected in Paris

Russia, United States
Rostec chiefs hire influential lobbyist in bid to escape US sanctions

The Corporate Intelligence Village Voice
Westexec, Eutelsat, Audere, Snapchat security

Spotlight | Syria
Syria's Great Game: despite Trump fanfare, strategic headaches remain

Syria
EU entrusts ex-Lebanese spymaster with security in Syria

Syria
Syria's private security boom

Syria
Paris finalises Damascus embassy dream team

Syria
ISIS-linked Syria detention camps face uncertain future following aid cuts

Spotlight | France, Russia, Syria, Turkey, United States
French security diplomacy in top gear for Syria's great game

Syria
Ahmed al-Sharaa shaping Damascus's new intelligence structure