President Donald Trump on Friday wrapped up a momentous week in the Middle East and is headed home having finished the final leg of his three-nation trip to the UAE.

While the trip, which first included stops in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, was expected to be largely economically focused with massive investment deals secured with Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi, the president also made geopolitical shockwaves by lifting decades-long sanctions on Syria, issuing another warning to Iran, and downplaying hard fought peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which Moscow confirmed at the last moment would not be attended by Russian President Valdimir Putin.

Here's a look at what happened this week:

TRUMP SIGNS 'STRATEGIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP' WITH SAUDI ARABIA

Ahead of his trip to the Gulf, the president said he intended to return home with at least $1 trillion in trade and investment deals – though he far outstripped this apparent goal.

While in Saudi Arabia, Trump signed a $600 billion "strategic economic partnership" agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which will see Riyadh invest in U.S. AI data centers and energy infrastructure, investment in "cutting-edge transformative technologies in both countries" and a whopping $142 billion defense package – which the White House claimed is the "largest defense sales agreement in history."

The president suggested the deal could near $1 trillion in the months to come and generate up to 2 million U.S. jobs. 

Trump also secured a big deal in Qatar with a $1.2 trillion "economic exchange" with Doha that included a purchase of 210 Boeing jets by state-owned Qatar Airways for $96 billion, as well as energy infrastructure agreements and an investment in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development."

The deal in Qatar was overshadowed by the controversial announcement that Qatar wanted to "gift" Trump a new Air Force One jet.

The president also expanded on a $1.4 trillion deal brokered with the UAE in March and announced an additional $200 billion "in commercial deals" between Washington and Abu Dhabi.

TRUMP OFFERS IRAN CHOICE: DROP NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR FACE 'MAXIMUM PRESSURE'

Trump addressed one major geopolitical issue not only plaguing Washington’s politics but the Middle East as a whole – Iran and its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. 

While nations like Saudi Arabia have long stood in opposition to Iran and its support of state-sponsored terrorism, the UAE and Qatar have increasingly looked to normalize relations with Tehran in an effort to stabilize the region.

But Trump used his visit to hone in on Washington’s determination to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.

"If Iran’s leadership rejects the olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure," Trump said during an address in Saudi Arabia. "The choice is theirs to make."

Trump harshly criticized Iran's leadership and Iranian representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions over whether the president’s rhetoric could negatively impact the negotiations. 

"If only the Iranian regime had focused on building their nation up instead of tearing the region down," Trump said. "Yet I'm here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran's leaders, but to offer them a new path and a much better path toward a far better and more hopeful future.

"In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies," he added. 

TRUMP ASKS SYRIA TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL IN RETURN FOR SANCTIONS RELIEF

Trump took the international community by surprise, including some in his administration, according to reports, when he announced the U.S. would reverse a decades-old policy of sanctions on Syria. 

The U.S. first implemented sanctions on Damascus in 1979 when it designated it a State Sponsor of Terrorism. 

But following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime and the takeover by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham – which is a U.S. and U.N.-designated terrorist organization – Trump argued on Wednesday the country should be given a chance to recover.

"We are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria's new government," Trump said.

Trump met with Syria’s leader, President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia and confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would also meet with the Syrian foreign minister in Turkey this week. 

 "I am also ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start. It gives them a chance for greatness, as the sanctions were really crippling," he added.

"It's not going to be easy," Trump said in reference to rebuilding Syria and addressing the ongoing fighting that still persists in the country. "It gives them a good, strong chance. And it was my honor to do so."

TRUMP TO SKIP RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, CALLS ZELENSKYY THE ‘GREATEST SALESMAN, MAYBE IN HISTORY’

Trump raised eyebrows earlier this week when he made the surprise announcement that he was considering traveling to Turkey from the UAE to participate in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks. 

But Russia refused to say whether Putin would in fact be traveling to Ankara, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had intended to visit to start hashing out a solution to end Russia’s three-year-long invasion.

On Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed Putin would not participate in peace negotiations, which renewed questions over his seriousness in ending the war. 

However, Trump downplayed Putin’s refusal to participate in the talks and suggested it was due to a schedule miscommunication. 

"Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together. OK?" Trump said apparently annoyed over the question as to whether he was disappointed Putin would not participate in the talks. "He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn't going if I wasn't there. 

"I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together" he added, suggesting the Thursday talks in Ankara are not expected to accomplish much. "But we're going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."

Despite Qatar being a leading player in negotiations for an end to Israel’s deadly military operations in the Gaza Strip and the return of all 58 hostages still held there, the president did not directly comment on current efforts to end the war. 

Instead, he doubled down on his previous suggestion that the U.S. should own the Palestinian territory, despite Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE, repeatedly calling for a two-state solution as defined by U.N. borders. 

Trump said he has seen "aerial shots where, I mean, there's practically no building standing. It's not like you're trying to save something. There's no buildings. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable."

"I want to see that be a freedom zone. And if it's necessary, I think I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen," he added in reference to his idea that also calls for the removal of more than 2 million Palestinians. 

Palestinians and Arab nations have rejected this idea and have largely backed an Egyptian proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza Strip. EU nations and the U.N. have also backed the $53 billion proposal. 

President Donald Trump asked Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully normalize relations with Israel in exchange for sanctions relief. 

In a readout of the pivotal Wednesday meeting for Syria, Trump encouraged Sharaa to sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel, tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport "Palestinian terrorists," help the U.S. prevent the resurgence of ISIS and assume charge of ISIS detention centers in northeast Syria. 

Some 10,000 ISIS fighters are imprisoned in the region, where the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is charged with keeping them locked up. 

The U.S. has about 1,400 troops stationed in Syria to fight ISIS. 

Trump said Tuesday it was a "dream" for Saudi Arabia to join the accords, but predicted Riyadh would do so in its own time. The kingdom has long insisted it would not do so until there was a path for Palestinian statehood. 

Trump announced Tuesday he would lift sanctions on Syria and meet with its new leader, who once had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. 

TRUMP SAYS HE'LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

"In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that we must all hope will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace," he said. "So I say good luck, Syria."

Al-Sharaa and his group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last year. His group was founded as an al-Qaeda offshoot, before separating from the terrorist group in 2016. 

The breakthrough announcement came as Trump is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, whose government leaders were widely expected to press Trump to release the sanctions to help Syria's economy. 

"There is a new government that will hopefully succeed," Trump said of Syria. "I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special."

TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST TOUR BEGINS WITH SYRIA LOOMING AS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY

Trump said both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan had encouraged him to lift the sanctions. 

"Oh, what I do for the crown prince," Trump quipped. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said he was inclined to support sanctions relief, warned Israel is still "extremely concerned about the state of play in Syria." 

President Donald Trump met with Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, a day after lifting all sanctions on Syria, marking a major shift in policy.

The last time a meeting between the two countries' leadership was with former President Bill Clinton in 2000. 

Trump met with al-Sharaa for an informal chat on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council, where he was set to address leaders as part of his four-day regional tour.

TRUMP SAYS HE'LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

Trump stated at the summit this was a step toward peace and rebuilding relations with Syria’s government.

"We are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria’s new government, as you know, beginning with my meeting with President Ahmed Al-Shara and Secretary Rubio's meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister in Turkey after discussing the situation with Crown Prince Mohammed," Trump said at the broader summit.

"I'm also ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start. It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful," he said.

Syrians were seen and heard celebrating the announcement by Trump that he would move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation.

TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST TOUR BEGINS WITH SYRIA LOOMING AS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY

A statement from Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the announcement "a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we seek to emerge from a long and painful chapter of war."

Trump says he feels strongly that this new endeavor will give Syria a great chance at a fresh start.

"I felt very strongly that this would give them a chance," said the president. "It's not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance. And it was my honor to do so, so we will be dropping all of the sanctions on Syria, which I think really is going to be a good thing."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also scheduled to meet with his Syrian counterpart later in the week.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the United States will drop sanctions against Syria and said he will meet with the nation’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, this week. 

"I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness," Trump said in a speech in Saudi Arabia, his first stop on the first international tour of his second term in office. 

"In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that we must all hope will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace," he said. "So I say good luck, Syria."

Trump is expected to meet briefly with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. 

TRUMP CONDEMNS ‘INTERVENTIONALISTS,’ PITCHES ‘MORE HOPEFUL FUTURE’ IN MIDEAST SPEECH

The nation was cut off from the global financial system under ousted President Bashar al-Assad's government, imposed during 14 years of civil war. 

Trump called the sanctions "brutal and crippling" but "important" at the time.

"In Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade."

TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST TOUR BEGINS WITH SYRIA LOOMING AS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY

Al-Sharaa, who previously had a $10 million terrorist bounty on his head by the U.S., had been campaigning hard for a relationship with Washington and sanctions relief: he offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus, détente with Israel, and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas. 

His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led Assad's ouster last year. Originally founded as an offshoot of al Qaeda, it has since worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist group.

The announcement came during a whirlwind Middle East tour where Trump is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, whose government leaders were widely expected to press Trump to release the sanctions to help Syria's economy. 

Trump said both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan had encouraged him to lift the sanctions. 

"Oh, what I do for the crown prince," Trump quipped. 

U.S. sanctions had slapped financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas, and Syrian banks were effectively cut off from global financial systems. 

The new Syrian government has cooperated with U.S. intelligence agencies and foiled several ISIS plots to attack Damascus. Syrian intelligence services arrested ISIS commander Abu al-Harith al-Iraqi in February. 

"Al Sharaa has a checkered past, which we all want to be cautious with but at the same time, I think that this is a great opportunity to help Syria move in a different direction," Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., who recently met with the Syrian leader, told Fox News Digital. 

"If we don't engage, I believe that we would definitely just be pushing him back into the arms of Russia and potentially even Iran."

During their meeting, Stutzman said al-Sharaa laid out his vision to turn Syria into a hub for trade, commerce and tourism. 

"He really does want to build Syria into a country similar like to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE," the congressman said. "He really got excited, kind of moved up to the edge of his seat, when he started talking about the opportunity for trade lines to cross Syria into Europe."

But still, some are skeptical. 

"I am very inclined to support sanctions relief for Syria under the right conditions. However, we must remember that the current leadership in Syria achieved its position through force of arms, not through the will of its people," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who traveled to Turkey this week to assess the Syria situation.

He noted that Syria is still listed as a state sponsor of terrorism, and that Israel is still "extremely concerned about the state of play in Syria." 

"In order for that designation to be lifted, the administration must submit a report to Congress on how circumstances have changed. That report has not been received and Congress has the opportunity to review this action if it chooses."

"Right now, Sharaa is not restricting political and civil liberties, but he's an authoritarian by nature," former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told Fox News Digital.

Ford, who led the effort to put al-Sharaa on the terrorist list in 2012, said although al-Sharaa is pragmatic, he is leading an extremely weak government.

"He doesn’t control all of Syria yet. The government in Damascus that he leads is not very strong, and it will take time to reassert all of its authority over Syria," Ford said.

Fox News' Chris Massaro contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump on Monday said he held a "productive" call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan on a range of topics, including the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump shared details of the call in a post on his TRUTH Social platform.

"I just had a very good and productive telephone conversation with the President of Turkey, Recep Erdoğan, concerning many subjects, including the War with Russia/Ukraine, all things Syria, Gaza, and more," Trump wrote.

The president added that he is looking forward to working with Erdogan to end the "ridiculous, but deadly" Russia-Ukraine war.

TRUMP'S 16TH WEEK IN OFFICE TO INCLUDE WH MEETING WITH CANADA, ONGOING TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

Trump has vowed to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, though the U.S. has tempered expectations regarding recent peace talks it’s brokering between the warring nations.

Gaza has also been a major issue for the Trump administration as Israel works to get its hostages returned after Hamas led a deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. As the fighting in Gaza has escalated, Trump has pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to be good to Gaza" because the people there "are suffering."

Trump noted that his relationship with Erdogan during his first term was "excellent," adding that the Turkish leader invited him to Turkey at a future date. Trump said Erdogan will also visit Washington, D.C., though no date was immediately provided.

ISRAEL APPROVES PLAN TO CAPTURE ALL OF GAZA, CALLS UP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF RESERVE TROOPS

Trump also highlighted that he and Erdogan had "worked together closely on numerous things," including the return of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who Trump said was freed "immediately upon my request."

Brunson was imprisoned and detained in Turkey for 735 days on terror and treason charges in October 2016 over his alleged ties to an outlawed group after a massive government crackdown following a failed coup months earlier.

• The US is withdrawing roughly 1,000 troops from Syria in the coming months.
• The Trump administration believes the new Syrian government and Kurdish partners can contain ISIS.
• The US is "well-served" by keeping some forces in Syria to counter ISIS, a retired colonel told BI.

The United States will begin withdrawing hundreds of troops from northeast Syria in coming months, a sign that it believes its Kurdish partners and the new Syrian government can keep ISIS extremists from reorganizing.

The US troops in Syria have assisted its local partner, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in the fight against ISIS since 2015. The presence was always relatively small, never exceeding 2,500, and is being reduced to below 1,000.

"This consolidation reflects the significant steps we have made toward degrading ISIS' appeal and operational capability regionally and globally," Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a Friday statement. "This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the US footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand US forces in the coming months."

"The US is likely to keep a small residual force in Syria to conduct targeted raids against ISIS," Nicholas Heras, senior director of strategy and innovation at the New Lines Institute, told Business Insider. "The US is also likely to keep the base in Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan) as a hub to surge forces into Syria, as needed."

"These factors would mean that a phased US withdrawal from Syria would be less likely to be chaotic, and more likely to adhere to a typical reduction in force."

In October 2019, two years after ISIS lost its self-styled caliphate's de-facto capital to the US-led coalition, President Donald Trump ordered an abrupt withdrawal, triggering a brief but destructive and destabilizing cross-border Turkish operation against the SDF. Trump ultimately postponed that hasty withdrawal and the US maintained a smaller deployment of about 900 personnel.

The latest drawdown takes place under significantly different circumstances.

"The 2019 withdrawal was so chaotic because it was a snap decision that the US administration wasn't adequately prepared for, and which senior officials in the administration were outraged by," Aron Lund, a fellow with Century International and a senior analyst at the Swedish Defense Research Agency, told BI.

"You don't have that situation today," Lund said, adding that, unlike the previous Trump administration, there are no officials who would likely resign in protest as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis did.

In December, after the overthrow of long-time Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the US disclosed that it had 2,000 troops in Syria. It clarified that those additional 1,100 were "temporary rotational forces" and the remaining 900 "core" assets.

Myles B. Caggins III, a senior nonresident fellow at the New Lines Institute, retired US Army colonel, and former spokesman for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, believes Washington would be "well-served" in continuing its Syria deployment.

"During the first Trump administration, the US-led global Coalition defeated ISIS by supporting the Kurdish-led SDF," Caggins told BI. "It is important for President Trump to preserve that victory and support the SDF while they continue raids on ISIS remnants and hold 10,000 ISIS detainees."

"The 2,000 US troops in Syria continue to blast and capture ISIS and Hurras al-Din leaders, as well as preventing Iranian-backed militants from having a land bridge to Lebanon and ultimately Israel," Caggins said; Hurras al-Din is an al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Syria.

These continued counter-terrorism efforts coincide with improving relations between Turkey and the SDF. A ceasefire recently ended months of skirmishes between the SDF and Turkey's Syrian militia allies.

"The situation now in eastern Syria is more fortuitous than it has been before for this type of US reduction of force," Heras said.

The SDF also signed a landmark deal with Damascus in March that will eventually see the SDF integrated into Syria's national armed forces. Until that deal, the US still has a crucial role to play in supporting its Kurdish-led partner.

"The new transitional Syrian government is not able to fund or staff the ISIS detention centers and Damascus tacitly welcomes the presence of US troops because they know that the well-trained, well-equipped SDF is a critical part of the future composition of the Syrian Ministry of Defense," Caggins said.

Thousands of ISIS fighters and their families remain in prisons and open-air camps in SDF-held areas. The most notable is the sprawling Al-Hol camp near the Iraqi border in northeast Syria. The camp is an indefinite detention for an estimated 40,000 people, primarily Iraqi and Syrian nationals, many with suspected links or sympathies to ISIS. ISIS prisoners and sleeper cells have attempted to free fellow captives and regroup, most notably in January 2022 through an attempted prison break in Hasaka that took the US-backed Kurdish authorities 10 days to suppress.

Efforts to rehabilitate foreign ISIS fighters at al-Hol are ongoing. So far, an estimated half of Iraqi nationals in the camp have been repatriated, with the majority rehabilitated.

Shortly before he returned to the White House in January, Trump said that America should have nothing to do with Syria or its conflict.

Century International's Lund believes it remains to be seen if "a more extensive pullout" of US troops from Syria and Syria's reabsorption of SDF territories and institutions could be smoothly coordinated with Damascus and Ankara.

"If everyone shows a bit of goodwill, you could have a handover of areas and prisons and other things" from the US and SDF to the Syrian government, Lund said. "But if there's not a deal in place when US troops start a final exit, or if there's a deal that doesn't hold up when tested, things could go haywire very quickly."

"Even if we end up with just a partial reduction of forces this time, I believe the United States will probably quit Syria in Trump's second mandate," Lund added. "And if so, it will probably be sooner rather than later."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

A bipartisan group of House members is introducing legislation they claim would strengthen border security by identifying and tracking potential terrorists well before they reach the U.S. homeland.

"Border security doesn’t begin or end at the border. Across the globe, individuals with ties to terrorist organizations pose threats to our homeland that can't be downplayed," Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said in a release provided to Fox News Digital. "Our constituents are relying on DHS and its partners to identify these threats and address them long before they pose a tangible threat to the communities we represent."

Correa is joined by Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, in introducing the Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate terror threats to the U.S. homeland that could potentially originate in Syria, where recent regime change has led to a quickly evolving political situation in a country home to multiple terrorist organizations.

ISRAEL FACES NEW SYRIA CHALLENGE AS IT ADJUSTS TO NEW STRATEGY AMID REGIONAL POWER STRUGGLE FOR INFLUENCE 

The legislation comes just two months after opposition groups in Syria toppled longtime leader Bashar Assad, who ruled the country for almost 25 years. 

The surprise offensive against Assad was led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, an Islamist group with ties to al Qaeda that is listed by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. One of the group's leaders, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has become interim leader of the country's new government, leading to concerns about the future political direction of the country.

EVANGELICAL LEADER SAYS US MUST PROTECT SYRIAN CHRISTIANS FROM ATTACKS BY JIHADI TERRORISTS

Luttrell said the new legislation, which is set to be voted on in the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, will require DHS to "evaluate the threat posed to the United States by individuals in Syria with ties to Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization (STGT)."

"The United States cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the growing terrorist threats in Syria. My legislation, the Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act, ensures that DHS is actively identifying and assessing the risks posed by individuals with ties to terrorist organizations before they can threaten our homeland," Luttrell said in a release to Fox News Digital.

• Tourists love visiting spots with unique architecture or natural beauty, but it's not always safe.
• Currently, there are 21 countries on the US government's "do-not-travel" list.
• The State Department considers travel risky there due to terrorism, kidnapping, and other threats.

Accidents and injuries can happen anywhere, but the US government warns that the risk of terrorism, kidnapping, and other dangers is higher in some countries than others. That's why it lists some as level-four, advising that Americans should not travel to them.

"All countries will rank destinations slightly different," Alan Fyall, a professor of tourism at the University of Central Florida, told Business Insider. While they frequently overlap, the US and the UK don't have identical lists, for example. Historical and cultural ties, proximity, and level of familiarity may all play a role in shaping these lists, he said.

For some of these countries, the US has suspended embassy operations. That makes it difficult for it to assist travelers when they're in trouble, and that's part of the reason the warnings can be stringent, said Fyall.

"Do you really want to go and rescue your citizens from a country that, really, they're not that advised to go to in the first place?" he said.

The US and UK governments also issue warnings for specific areas of some countries, such as near the Thailand-Malaysia border or the Western Desert in Egypt. The US and UK also caution against travel to Gaza and Northern Israel.

While some risk-takers travel to these countries for a thrill, others visit for family or business. "Some people think the perceived risk is overstated," Edward Dramberger, a University of South Carolina tourism and hospitality professor, told BI.

Nations and regions can move up and down the US' list, but here are the 21 countries the State Department considers "do-not-travel" zones as of March 2025.

Afghanistan

Sitting between Iran and Pakistan, mountainous Afghanistan has rugged terrain and an arid climate.

"People perceive Afghanistan as just a desolate, mountain desert country with no attributes, no culture, which is wrong," Dramberger said. Decades of coups, civil wars, and invasions have made the country difficult for travelers to get to know, except via the news.

The US State Department lists civil unrest, terrorism, and kidnapping among the safety concerns when traveling to Afghanistan. In 2021, the US Embassy in Kabul closed.

Medical care may be more difficult to obtain in rural areas.

For those who travel to level-four countries, the State Department often offers routine advice, including staying aware of your surroundings, keeping your travel documents on hand, drafting a will before travel, creating a plan to leave the country without the aid of the US government, and monitoring local news for emergency situations.

For Afghanistan, the agency also recommends that American visitors keep a low profile while in Afghanistan.

Belarus

Once a part of the Soviet Union, Belarus retains close ties to its neighbor Russia. From Gothic architecture to a refuge for the near-threatened European bison, Belarus has attractions for castle seekers and nature enthusiasts.

In recent years, Belarus has allowed Russia to use some of its territory to invade Ukraine. The risk of civil unrest and the past detention of US citizens makes visits to Belarus unwise, according to the State Department. The US Embassy suspended operations there in 2022.

Americans who go to Belarus should exercise the usual precautions for traveling to high-risk countries and also consider leaving phones, computers, and other electronic devices behind. The State Department also recommends not accessing social media accounts while in Belarus because they may be monitored.

Burkina Faso

Columns of sandstone, known as the Pics de Sindou, jut out from the ground, creating a unique landscape in the southwest of Burkina Faso. The West African country also has an incredible wildlife refuge, Réserve de Nazinga, near its border with Ghana.

The country's government has declared a state of emergency for several regions. Terrorism and other threats have displaced over 2 million residents, according to the United Nations. Since 2015, several Westerners have been kidnapped in Burkina Faso, according to the US' Overseas Security Advisory Council.

While the US Embassy still operates in Ouagadougou, the capital, government employees are unable to travel to many parts of the country due to safety concerns.

Recommendations for lowering risk while traveling in Burkina Faso include avoiding areas where Westerners typically travel and not resisting if someone attempts to rob you, the State Department says.

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic touches several other level-four countries, including Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's home to incredibly rich biodiversity in its national parks, including Dzanga-Sangha National Park and Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park.

Many of the country's species are endangered, and its citizens have faced decades of instability, according to the United Nations. Recently, armed groups have targeted Muslims and refugees.

The US State Department also considers CAR a dangerous travel destination due to threats of crime, civil unrest, and kidnapping. US citizens can expect limited help from the government's embassy in Bangui, CAR's capital.

Due to the threat of kidnapping, the US' travel advisory website suggests travelers leave DNA samples with their doctor and establish proof-of-life protocols with family or friends so they can assist you if you're abducted.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Located south of the CAR, the Democratic Republic of Congo is enormous, encompassing savannas, grasslands, and the Congo rainforest.

While tourists may long to bask in the vibrancy of its capital, Kinshasa, or attempt to catch a glimpse of its various gorilla species, the US State Department advises against it. Conditions in the Eastern DRC are especially fraught due to armed conflict, according to the United Nations.

Locals are the ones most affected by the violence, but US citizens and other foreign visitors have been kidnapped, according to the OSAC. In January 2025, the US State Department pulled out its non-emergency employees.

The US' travel advisory site suggests carrying a copy of your passport and visa and keeping the originals in a safe location, except when crossing provincial borders by air.

Haiti

The Caribbean country of Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Its Citadelle Laferrière remains a monument to Haitian independence, which it won from France in 1804.

More recently, the country has fallen under a state of emergency. In 2025, the US government extended a ban on flights to Port-au-Prince, its capital, due to gang violence. There's a curfew and prohibition on walking around the city in place.

The State Department has warned that armed robberies, sexual assaults, and kidnappings are among the reasons to reconsider travel to Haiti. Anyone who does go should avoid walking when possible, travel in groups, and keep vehicle doors and windows locked when driving, it advises.

Iran

One way to see over 800 miles of this Middle Eastern country is the Trans-Iranian Railway, which runs from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. Tehran, the capital, lies along the route.

Some of the country's natural wonders include dormant volcanoes and the stunning limestone formations of Badab-e Surt. Right now, it's not safe for US citizens to make the trip, according to the State Department.

Following protests in 2022, thousands of people were arrested and tortured by Iranian authorities, according to Amnesty International. These were mostly locals, but the US government has cautioned that Iranian officials may detain or imprison US nationals and other foreigners.

The situation between Iran and Israel is volatile right now as well.

The US doesn't have a physical embassy in Iran. The American government's travel advisory site states that visitors should have a means of leaving Iran that doesn't depend on its assistance.

Iraq

From the Tigris and Euphrates to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Iraq holds sites that many remember from their ancient history textbooks. Sadly, some of its artifacts were lost to looting during the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Since the US invasion and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has faced threats from terrorist groups such as ISIS. Terrorism, kidnapping, and civil unrest are enough of a risk that the State Department considers Iraq a level-four country.

In 2024, ISIS was still active in parts of Iraq, according to OSAC. Armed conflict and terrorist threats are dangerous at the northern borders, per the State Department. It advises US travelers to consider making arrangements with a professional security organization for any visits.

Lebanon

At just over 4,000 square miles, Lebanon is just a bit bigger than Puerto Rico. It has snowy mountains that attract skiers every winter.

A lengthy civil war from 1975 to 1990 left scars in Beirut and beyond. In recent years, an economic crisis has taken a toll. Meanwhile, conflicts in neighboring Israel and Syria have affected Lebanon.

The US government has said that terrorist groups operating in Lebanon put travelers at risk. There have been suicide bombings, and a gunman opened fire at the embassy in Beirut in June 2024.

Visitors should take the advised security measures for high-risk countries and also be on the lookout for unexploded land mines near the Syrian border, per the State Department.

Libya

Situated between Egypt and Algeria, Libya has a coast that runs along the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea. Roman emperor Septimius Severus was born in Leptis Magna, and a UNESCO World Heritage site with striking ruins of large, impressive buildings.

Violence, including two recent civil wars, has marred the country. Armed groups have attacked hotels and airports in Tripoli, Sruman, and other cities, according to the State Department. The US Embassy hasn't been active in Tripoli since 2014.

The US warns of unexploded landmines and suggests consulting with a professional security organization.

Mali

Centuries-old mosques can be found in Mali's Timbuktu, symbols of its history as a seat of Islamic culture and learning. Its marketplace drew travelers and traders during the 15th and 16th centuries.

To the southwest of Timbuktu is Bamako, Mali's capital. Outside the city and in other parts of the country, terrorists and kidnappers target foreign visitors in the hopes of getting ransom, according to OSAC. US personnel aren't allowed to visit nightclubs or attend concerts for safety reasons.

Some of the advice for traveling in Mali includes avoiding walking around deserted streets at night, carrying minimal cash, not leaving valuables in your hotel, and looking for a well-lit area when stopped by police.

Myanmar (Burma)

Located on the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia, Myanmar boasts a fascinating mix of architecture, from pagodas and palaces to colonial hotels and government offices. One stupa, or pagoda, the Shwedagon, is the country's most sacred Buddhist site.

A coup in 2021 sparked demonstrations. The military detained protestors and used force against them and bystanders, according to the State Department. The risk of continued civil unrest and arbitrary arrests makes it unwise to travel to the country, according to US travel advisories.

Some armed groups have used improvised explosive devices in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, while NGOs have reported land mines in Shan State, Chin State, and Kachin State.

North Korea

One of the world's most mysterious and isolated countries, North Korea shares borders with South Korea, China, and Russia. Kim Jong-Un took over the presidency in 2011, continuing a family dynasty that's been in power since the 1950s.

In 2025, North Korea reopened to Western tourists for the first time since the pandemic. The State Department cautions that US nationals might be arrested and held for long periods of time. It warns that it's unable to provide emergency service for its citizens who are detained.

An American student, Otto Warmbier, was arrested in North Korea in 2016. While detained, he fell into a coma. He died six days after he was returned to his family in Ohio in 2017.

Russia

Russia's cities contain dazzling buildings, and its landscape is breathtaking. Siberia's Lake Baikal is the planet's oldest and deepest. The world's last woolly mammoths lived and died out on Wrangel Island, where polar bears, musk oxen, and walruses now congregate.

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US State Department has declared it unsafe for US citizens, who may face harassment or detention. It said authorities might not inform the US if an American is arrested.

The US' travel advisory also cited drone attacks and explosions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, locations near the Ukrainian border, and other areas.

The State Department notes there may be risks for those with dual US-Russian nationality. Because the situation is volatile, travelers should stay aware of the latest local news when visiting.

Somalia

Located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia's lengthy coastline borders the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Somali archaeologist Sada Mire has called the capital Mogadishu an "unbreakable pearl," tracing its history as a center for trade back to the first century CE.

During the 1990s, Somalia experienced famine and civil war. Instability continued in the form of terror attacks, including a suicide bombing on a popular beach in 2024. Due to the possibility of kidnapping and terrorism, the US has issued a do-not-travel advisory.

The State Department also advised against sailing near Somalia's coast due to piracy.

South Sudan

It was only during the 21st century that South Sudan declared its independence and was recognized as a sovereign state. Its neighbors include Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Its short history was dominated by a civil war, and a new conflict is brewing between the military and an opposition force, which clashed near the Ethiopian border. NGOs, the UN, and others have found it difficult to accurately assess crime levels, but firearms easily cross the border from Sudan, according to OSAC.

Due to recent political instability, the US pulled its non-emergency employees in March. Anyone traveling in South Sudan should avoid its border areas and adhere to restrictions around public photography and videography, the State Department says.

Sudan

Khartoum, Sudan, is where the Blue and White Niles meet. Meroë is further north, where ancient Kushite rulers lived and were buried in pyramids. Some date back to the third century BCE; several have collapsed but others retain decorative carvings.

Civil war threatens not only the archaeological history but locals and travelers. Officials at the US Embassy hastily evacuated Khartoum in 2023, soon after the conflict broke out. Various groups frequently engage in violent fighting, the State Department says.

The Darfur, Khartoum, and Kordofan regions have all been sites for kidnappings, according to OSAC. The Khartoum International Airport is closed.

The US' travel advisory suggests travelers be aware of their surroundings, especially in locations where Westerners typically visit.

Syria

Not only is Damascus the capital of Syria, it's the seat of cultural history. Established over 2,000 years ago, it's one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. Evidence of its Roman and Byzantine past exists alongside important Islamic monuments such as the Umayyad Mosque.

Despite the allure of these ancient sites, the US doesn't recommend travel to Syria. A lengthy civil war broke out in 2011, with efforts to oust Bashar Assad from power. Since Assad resigned at the end of 2024, violence has continued to erupt in parts of western Syria, Reuters reported in March.

The State Department has also warned terrorism, kidnapping and hostage-taking, and unjust detention are risks in Syria. It recommends visitors set up proof-of-life protocols with loved ones, among other precautions before and during travel.

Ukraine

Much like Istanbul's Hagia Sofia, for which it was named, the Saint Sophia Cathedral serves as an eye-catching landmark in Kyiv. It's just one of the Ukrainian capital's architectural treasures.

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and years of fighting have ensued, mainly in the east, where the border lies. Belarusian troops are also present along its border with Ukraine.

The ongoing conflict is the principal reason the US government cautions against visiting. Areas that aren't on the frontline of fighting could still experience drone and missile attacks, the State Department notes.

Drafting a will, coordinating a security plan, and creating a communication protocol with loved ones are just a few of the steps suggested on the travel advisory website.

Venezuela

With its dizzying height of over 3,000 feet, the Salto Ángel waterfall has drawn tourists for decades, though it's notoriously tricky to access. It's found in the southeast of Venezuela, in the Canaima National Park near where the country borders Brazil and Guyana.

The country is in the midst of an economic and political crisis. Heavily reliant on oil for income, it suffered years of recession. In 2024, the US and several other countries refused to recognize the results of its presidential election, calling it fraudulent, BBC News reported at the time.

The US Embassy ceased operations in Caracas in 2019. The State Department has issued warnings about arbitrary detentions and unpredictable enforcement of local laws. In 2023 and 2025, Venezuela released several Americans, some of whom were "wrongfully detained," according to the US government.

Travelers may want to hire a professional security team during their stay, according to the US' travel advisory site.

Yemen

Beautiful gypsum patterns adorn red fired-brick buildings in the Old City of Sana'a. People have lived in this area of Yemen for over 2,500 years. The country is located on the Arabian Peninsula next to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Yemen's civil war started over a decade ago and continues today. The threat of armed conflict continues, according to OSAC. Detained US citizens have not been allowed to contact their families or the embassy, which isn't operating at the moment.

The State Department warns against visiting the Yemeni island of Socotra. Some travel companies have offered trips there with unofficial visas, which puts travelers at risk, according to the travel advisory website.

Syrian human rights activist Ribal al-Assad tore into Europe for lifting sanctions against the nation’s new "terrorist" regime, which he warned is no better than his first cousin, ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. 

After days of bloodshed, Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the forces that overthrew Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), on Thursday signed a temporary constitution putting the country under Islamist rule for at least five years.

But al-Sharaa's government has gone on a "revenge killing spree," going after low-level officers who had been conscripted into Assad’s armed forces, along with Alawite and Christian minorities, among others, according to al-Assad.

"They couldn't have refused [military service]. Those who refused were put in jails," he said, adding that any high-level officers in Assad’s forces had fled the country. 

RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER IN SYRIA SHOWS NEED FOR US, EUROPE TO 'KEEP A CLOSE EYE' ON ISLAMIST REGIME: GREEK FM

While much of Syria was happy to see the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, religious and ethnic minorities have remained skeptical of the new leadership once tied to al Qaeda. 

Ribal al-Assad insisted the new regime is "an Islamic caliphate. They want a theocracy. They want to replace a dictatorship with cult, as it happened in Iran 45 years ago."

He said Christians were caught up alongside Alawites in the revenge spree because "Christians and Alawites live together. In my town, we have Christians who live there. We've always, lived … side by side, and they celebrate holidays together."

In December, the Biden administration removed the longtime bounty on the head of HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

Europe suspended a range of sanctions on the new Syrian government late last month, though the U.S. still has many other punitive financial measures in place. 

"After 14 years of devastation of destruction of so much mass killing, you know, it's really not normal for the international community to come, you know, and to have, for example, the Europeans lift sanctions … on this terrorist regime and say, 'Oh, there are snapback sanctions in case this regime does something that with the sanctions will be reinstated," said al-Assad. 

"What worse could [HTS] do for you to reinstate them?"

ISRAEL FACES NEW SYRIA CHALLENGE AS IT ADJUSTS TO NEW STRATEGY AMID REGIONAL POWER STRUGGLE FOR INFLUENCE

Al-Assad tore into the European Commission for inviting al-Sharaa to a donor conference to raise money for his government.

"European countries [are going] to give him money, to give him more funds so he could encourage and reward him for the killing that he's done, instead of saying, 'We will not lift sanctions until we see a new program, a modern constitution, secular constitution that guarantees equality of all citizens and the rule of law."

Government forces have crushed an insurgency that began last week by armed militia loyal to Assad. 

And rights groups say hundreds of civilians, largely belonging to the Alawite minority sect of Islam, which counts Assad as a member, died in the violence that erupted along Syria’s coast. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) alleges close to 1,000 civilians were killed in the past week’s violence. 

Thousands of civilians who fled the sectarian violence are still sheltering at a Russian airbase along the Latakia province, according to Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova.

BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION SEEKS TO REIN IN ERDOGAN'S TURKEY OVER TIES TO US FOES

"Our military sheltered more than 8,000, according to yesterday’s data, probably closer to 9,000 Syrians, mostly women and children," she said Thursday. 

Entire families, women and children included, were slaughtered as part of the past week’s sectarian killings, the United Nations said. 

Al-Sharaa claimed the government would investigate "the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them."

The U.N. Human Rights Office has counted 111 civilian killings but expects the figure to be much higher. 

"In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families — including women, children and individuals hors de combat — were killed with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular," U.N. human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said Tuesday.

"Many of the cases documented were of summary executions. They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis."

Abdulhamid Al-Awak, part of a committee tasked by al-Sharaa with drawing up the new constitution that will establish a transitional government for five years, told a news conference Thursday the constitution would require the head of state to be a Muslim and said Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.

But Al-Awak said the constitution would include protections for free expression and the media. 

"There are many, many, many, many clauses in that constitution that are hilarious," said al-Assad. 

"The transition period is for five years, but it can be extended indefinitely, you know, based on security and political conditions. You know, what does that mean?

"The president, he could appoint one third of Parliament with full legislative powers. You know, this is again, this is crazy. All political parties at the moment are suspended. No opposition, no representation. Nothing."

The document will "balance between social security and freedom" during the rocky political situation, said Al-Awak.

The constitution also claims the state is "committed to combating all forms of violent extremism while respecting rights and freedoms" and that "citizens are equal before the law in rights and duties, without discrimination based on race, religion, gender or lineage." 

It banned arms outside military control and cracked down on "glorifying the former Assad regime" as a crime.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council rejected the draft document Friday and called for it to be rewritten, arguing it did not go far enough in protecting Syria’s many ethnic communities. It argued the constitution "reproduced authoritarianism in a new form" and said "any constitutional declaration must be the result of genuine national consensus, not a project imposed by one party," even after a breakthrough agreement on Monday with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led authorities calling for a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces. 

Al-Assad called on the U.S. to step in to help Syria establish a "genuine representative democracy." 

"This is definitely not what the Syrian people were looking for, those who rose against the previous regime. This is not the regime that they want," he said. "And this is why we want the United States to help us move towards a genuine representative democracy.

"How are you going to let an Islamist extremist-run regime on the Mediterranean, which will start recruiting thousands?

"They could be in two hours and a half in Cyprus and then the Greek islands and Europe and from Europe to the U.S.. … You remember what al Qaeda has done when they were in Afghanistan. And Afghanistan is not on the Mediterranean."

With hundreds left dead over the weekend under Syria’s new regime, Greek Foreign Minister Giorigios Gerapetritis warned Europe and the U.S. to "keep a close eye" on the ruling Islamist group that is working to gain acceptance by the West. 

Syria contains a sizable population of Orthodox Christians, and Gerapetritis insisted the international community demand religious minorities be included in governance, or else leave sanctions in place. 

"All ethnic and religious minorities should be included in the governance, rule of law," he told Fox News Digital in an interview conducted last week prior to the weekend's violence.

"The release of sanctions should take place mostly on a gradual basis. We need to see how it goes," he went on, adding that any lifting of sanctions should be "reversible." 

EUROPE MUST LEAD ON UKRAINIAN SECURITY GUARANTEES, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS: 'WE ARE THE NEIGHBORS'

"It is of the utmost importance that the U.S. and Europe are keeping a close eye on Syria. We need to encourage the new regime to stay close to international law." 

Days of clashes between those affiliated with Syria’s new governing force HTS and those loyal to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad have left hundreds of civilians dead. 

Death toll estimates have varied. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday more than 1,000 people had been killed, including 700 civilians. Another monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, reported that government forces had killed 327 civilians and captured militants and Assad loyalists had killed 148. 

It was the bloodiest internal clash since Assad was ousted in early December.

Fighting began Thursday after Assad loyalists ambushed government forces in the Latakia province, and revenge killings left entire families, mostly of the Alawite sect of Islam, dead in their wake, according to the United Nations. 

"We are receiving extremely disturbing reports of entire families, including women, children and hors de combat [surrendered] fighters, being killed," U.N. human rights commissioner Volker Türk said in a statement. "The killing of civilians in coastal areas in north-west Syria must cease, immediately."

 Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said the fighting was part of "expected challenges" and called for national unity. 

"We have to preserve national unity and domestic peace; we can live together," he said. 

Russia and the U.S. asked the U.N. Security Council to meet privately on Monday to discuss the violence in Syria. 

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham was founded as an al Qaeda offshoot but broke away from the group in 2016. In December, the Biden administration lifted a $10 million bounty on the head of al-Sharaa. 

The group has been trying to shake its extremist reputation and terrorist designation, with a smooth-talking al-Sharaa claiming he does not want Syria to become the next Afghanistan and he believes in education for women.

BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION SEEKS TO REIN IN ERDOGAN'S TURKEY OVER TIES TO US FOES

Gerapetritis also expressed "concern" about Turkey’s Blue Homeland Doctrine, which has prompted incursions into Greek waters. The expression refers to Turkey’s maritime claims over large portions of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in large part spurred by large deposits of natural gas off the coast of Cyprus. 

"We are concerned, you know, the Blue Homeland doctrine is a doctrine that goes against international law," he said. "Greece has abided by international law, especially international law of the seas."

Geraptetritis said relations between Greece and Turkey had improved in recent years – Turkish incursions of Greek airspace had "minimized" and the two countries had coordinated on tackling illegal immigration. 

"There must be a major step concerning the limitation of maritime zones. We’re not still there," he said. 

Greece and Turkey, both members of NATO, have had tensions for decades, though relations have improved in recent years. 

"I have to emphasize the fact that Greece is a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the broader region."

The foreign minister also boasted of Greece’s growing relationship with India, and views his nation as a gateway for India’s planned Middle East-Europe corridor. 

He framed it as a way to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, where the CCP seeks access and influence across the globe by financing development and trade projects. 

"This major, plan is, I think, an excellent project," said Gerapetritis. "In order to diversify the routes concerning transport, concerning data, concerning energy. We are very like-minded with the United States when it comes to foreign and security policy."

China had swept in to help Greece financially during its public debt crisis, with Chinese companies investing billions in the nation at a time when most investors were spooked by its debt defaults. Now, Greece appears to be pulling away from that influence. 

"It is our firm conviction that we need to develop alternative cooperation and alternative trade routes [to China]."

For decades, what went on behind the walls of the Sednaya military prison in Syria was largely hidden from the world. But after Bashar al-Assad lost power in 2024, droves of inmates were released. They are now sharing the horrors they experienced in the country's deadliest and most violent prison.

• The US has 2,000 troops in Syria backing Kurdish-led forces to contain ISIS militants.
• The Trump admin is weighing withdrawing these forces, and the Russian military is losing its access.
• "Russia now hangs on by its fingertips," a Syria expert told BI.

Syria has been one of the world's most complex proxy fights since its civil war broke out in 2011, but who holds power and where is now shifting rapidly.

The biggest change came from the dramatic toppling of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December. It was driven out by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who are no friends of Russia or Iran.

HTS holds territory from Aleppo in the northwest to Damascus, the seat of the Assad regime. But Syria remains fractured by competing armies. Turkish forces and militants it backs hold pockets near its northern border. The US-partnered Syrian Democratic Forces occupy the large triangle of northeastern Syria, an area that has oilfields and prison camps holding ISIS fighters. Russia is reducing its military footprint as Israel seizes new positions near the Golan Heights. But the newest question mark is the US.

The US has 2,000 troops in Syria backing the Kurdish-led SDF to contain ISIS. It also controls the strategically located al-Tanf base in southern Syria. But the longevity of those deployments is unclear. The Department of Defense is reportedly drafting contingency plans to withdraw all troops should President Donald Trump order it.

"Presently, the HTS-led government is seeking to create the conditions for a US withdrawal from the country that would undermine the SDF coalition, which represents an impediment to the emerging regime's ability to control all of the country," Nicholas Heras, senior director of strategy and innovation at the New Lines Institute, told Business Insider.

US forces in Syria safeguard oilfields and assist the SDF in strikes to defeat remnants of ISIS. These forces are potential leverage that Trump risks losing if he withdraws them before talks with the new government under interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

"It seems likely that the Trump administration will keep troops in Syria over the short term and speak about a step-by-step policy of loosening sanctions based on President Sharaa's willingness to develop a constitution and move toward a representative government that does not threaten its neighbors," Joshua Landis, Director of the Centre of Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told BI.

The easier chip in bargaining could be the US base at al-Tanf in Syria's southern desert. Controlled by the US-allied, anti-ISIS Syrian Free Army group, the base is situated near the Jordanian border and the important Baghdad-Damascus highway. The US enforced a 34-mile de-confliction zone around al-Tanf which Iranian-backed forces and Assad's regime weren't allowed to access.

"The US presence at al-Tanf was pretty dubious before Assad fell and it serves no discernible purpose now, except possibly as a point of leverage vis-à-vis the new Damascus government," Aron Lund, Middle East analyst with the Swedish Defence Research Agency and fellow with Century International, told BI. "So, al-Tanf could be a place they'll withdraw from first, perhaps after getting some little thing in return from Sharaa's government."

The SDF-controlled regions present a "thornier issue" with much higher stakes. The Kurds guard prisons with thousands of ISIS fighters, but they'd be hard-pressed to maintain these faced with a major offensive by a rival. While HTS has not attacked the SDF, the Turkish-backed militias have done so repeatedly since late 2024.

"There are some real political risks involved, related to an ISIS revival and the fate of Kurdish groups in that area," Lund said. "Even Trump could perhaps be persuaded that these things are worth negotiating over if only to limit the fallout before withdrawing."

Israel expanded its presence along the Golan Heights as Assad's regime collapsed, seizing Mount Hermon. Satellite images show it is building bases there.

"Israel does not trust the HTS-led government and the Israeli posture suggests that Jerusalem could play a strong role in Syrian affairs for years to come," Heras said.

The outside power that stands the most to gain is Turkey. Ahead of his recent visit to Turkey, reports indicated Sharaa would discuss Turkey potentially establishing bases in Syria's central desert region.

"Turkey already has a forward operating military presence in northwest Syria, and it is unlikely that it will withdraw its forces from the country in the near future," Heras said. "The HTS-led government wants to leverage Turkey to have a patron state to support the development of its security forces."

Russia, by contrast, stands to lose the most. Syria canceled an Assad-era contract with Russia to manage Tartus naval base but Syria's defense minister also said it might let Russia keep this port and the Hmeimim airbase "if we get benefits for Syria."

"Russia now hangs on by its fingertips, but we'll see how that turns out," Lund said. "In five years, they could still have Tartus, perhaps also Hmeimim."

Moscow has had access to Tartus since 1971. Today, these bases are essential to supporting Russian military and mercenary operations across the Middle East and Africa.

"The new Syrian government is obviously no friend of the Russians. It needs to be mindful of the views of its political base, which is made up of ex-rebel factions that hate Putin almost as much as they hate Assad," Lund said. He noted that Russia still has "important leverage" over Syria. Rebuilding the Syrian military without Russian arms could prove challenging, even if Syria aims to have Turkey replace Russia's traditional role as its main arms supplier.

"There's so much legacy Soviet and Russian equipment and training, you can't just throw all that out," Lund said.

Syria's new rulers have little to fear from Russia since the days of Russia relentlessly bombing HTS's Idlib stronghold in support of Assad are gone.

"The Russian bases are there at their mercy, and they seem fairly harmless for the new government," Lund said.

"Letting them stay could even provide a point of leverage."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

• Syria is open to allowing Russia to hold onto two key military bases after Bashar Assad's ousting.
• Syria's new defense minister said that relations with Russia, which supported Assad, have improved.
• Hmeimim and Tartus bases are strategic for Russia, offering major air and naval advantages.

Syria is open to allowing Russia to keep hold of its two military bases in the country, two months after rebel groups ousted Kremlin ally Bashar Assad and set in motion a Russian troop and military equipment withdrawal.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said that there is a possibility Russia could hold onto the bases — Hmeimim air base and Tartus port — "if we get benefits for Syria out of this."

It's not clear what military, economic, or political support could be offered, but Abu Qasra said that Russia's stance had "improved significantly" toward the new government.

Assad, who ruled Syria for 24 years, fled to Russia in early December after a lightning two-week military campaign by rebel forces.

This threw Russia's hold on the bases — described by Andreas Krieg, a Gulf specialist at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London, as Russia's "most important bases outside the direct sphere of Russian influence" — into question.

Russia was granted a 49-year lease on the bases in 2017 in return for military assistance.

At the end of January, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that "nothing has changed" and that preserving Russian access to the bases "requires additional negotiations," according to Russian state-controlled news agency TASS.

Prior to his ousting, Assad had enjoyed strong military and political support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stationed troops there and helped suppress rebel areas and a 2015 uprising with air and missile strikes.

Within days of Assad's removal, satellite images picked up a flurry of Russian activity at the bases: equipment being packed up, ships moving in and out of port, and the likely transfer of soldiers.

In January, Ukraine said that Russia was moving military gear from Tartus to Libya, where it also has a strong influence.

The Syrian bases are a key foothold in the Middle East and beyond for Russia.

Hmeimim affords Russian air forces a base for refueling and overflight for much of Africa. Tartus, on the Mediterranean, is unique in Russia's assets in being its only warm-water port with direct access to the oceans.

The rebel groups now governing Syria were previously targetted by Russian forces, but Abu Qasra told the Post, "in politics, there are no permanent enemies."

One trump card held by Russia is Assad himself. According to the Post, the new Syrian government wants Assad's extradition so that he can be held to account for his bloody rule.

Director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard shed further light on her 2017 meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, a trip that has come under the microscope since President Donald Trump nominated the former congresswoman. 

"There is not a great deal in the public record about what you and Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad discussed for so long in January of 2017. And I think there's a great deal of interest from the American people about what was discussed in that meeting. So what did you talk about? And did you press Assad on things like his use of chemical weapons, systematic torture and the killing of so many Syrians?" Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., asked Gabbard on Thursday. 

Gabbard, when she served in the U.S. House, traveled to Syria in 2017, where she met with the dictator, whose government was overthrown years later in 2024. The visit has become a focal point of Democrats' criticism of the DNI nominee, arguing the visit casts doubt on her worldview and judgment. 

'LIES AND SMEARS': TULSI GABBARD RAILS AGAINST DEM NARRATIVE SHE'S TRUMP'S AND PUTIN'S 'PUPPET'

"Yes, senator, I, upon returning from this trip, I met with people like then-Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer, talked to them and answered their questions about the trip," Gabbard, who served in the U.S. House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, responded. 

TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED

"And quite frankly, I was surprised that there was no one from the intelligence community or the State Department who reached out or showed any interest whatsoever in my takeaways from that trip. I would have been very happy to have a conversation and give them a back brief. I went with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who had been there many times before and who had met with Assad before. A number of topics were covered and discussed. And to directly answer your question, yes. I asked him tough questions about his own regime's actions. The use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people."

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also met with Assad in 2007, despite then-President George W. Bush's criticism of the visit at the time. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET

"Were you able to extract any concessions from President Assad?" Heinrich pressed of Gabbard. 

"No, and I didn't expect to, but I felt these issues were important to address," she continued. 

"Just in complete hindsight, would you, would you view this trip as, good judgment?" the Senate lawmaker continued. 

"Yes, senator. And I believe that leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging boots on the ground, learning and listening and meeting directly with people, whether they be adversaries or friends," Gabbard said. 

Gabbard is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as part of her nomination process to serve as director of national intelligence under the second Trump administration.

• New satellite images show Russian cargo ships docked at Tartus to haul away military equipment.
• Russia's presence at the key naval base in Syria fell into uncertainty after the Assad regime ended.
• The images are the latest indication that Moscow is scaling down its footprint in the country.

Newly captured satellite imagery shows Russia appearing to evacuate military equipment from a key naval base in Syria. The images are the latest sign that Moscow is scaling down its footprint in the country.

Imagery captured by Maxar Technologies and obtained by Business Insider shows two Russian-flagged cargo ships, Sparta and Sparta II, docked at the port of Tartus on Saturday after spending weeks idling in the Mediterranean Sea before they were allowed to enter.

Russia's long-held military presence at Tartus and nearby Hmeimim airbase fell into uncertainty after the sudden collapse of the Assad regime in early December. It was unclear at the time whether the new Syrian government would allow Moscow to keep the two facilities.

The satellite images also show trans-loading operations underway to remove equipment and cargo that Russia had staged at the base. A large number of vehicles could be seen at the base in mid-December and earlier this month. The latest images show a notable decrease in these assets.

Sparta and Sparta II are roll-on/roll-off vessels that can carry wheeled cargo such as vehicles. Both of these ships are sanctioned by the US over their involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine. Marine tracking data shows they arrived at Tartus last week and that Sparta II has already left the port.

The images are the latest indication that Russia is continuing to scale down its military footprint in Syria after rebel forces ousted Bashar Assad, the country's longtime dictator, in a stunning offensive during the fall.

Russia long supported Assad in his civil war, but the rebels now control the province where Tartus and Hmeimim are located. The Kremlin had been engaged in efforts to secure the security of the two bases, but the new government reportedly just canceled Moscow's lease on the port.

Over the past few weeks, satellite imagery has detected signs consistent with a partial or full military withdrawal. At Tartus, Russia emptied out its warships from the port, with some vessels spotted lingering off Syria's coast. And transport aircraft were seen at Hmeimim packing up critical equipment.

The Pentagon said last month that it had observed Russia consolidating assets in Syria, with some forces leaving the country. Ukraine's military intelligence agency has said that Moscow is withdrawing from the country.

Tartus and Hmeimim are both strategically valuable to Russia. The naval facility provides crucial access to a warm-water port, and the airbase allows Moscow to shuttle forces in and out of Africa. Losing both sites would be a major setback for Moscow, which allows it to project power across the Middle East and beyond.

FIRST ON FOX: Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller, offered their full endorsement of Kash Patel for FBI director, after years of building a personal relationship with the Trump administration nominee. 

"He loves his country. He loves the people of this country," Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview via Zoom on Monday morning. "To us, you know, he is a person that we would go to for help. And he is so action oriented." 

"Just like Trump," Carl Mueller added to his wife's comments on Patel's action-motivated personality.

The Muellers wrote a letter this week to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., of the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering their full endorsement of Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration. 

Their daughter Kayla was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013, when she was assisting with humanitarian efforts amid the country's bloody civil war. She was held hostage for 18 months, when she was believed to be repeatedly tortured and raped by ISIS militants, including then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

'WHEN THEY FAIL, AMERICANS DIE': TRUMP SOURCE BLASTS FBI, URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF KASH PATEL AS DIRECTOR

She was killed in 2015 — with her parents speaking to Fox Digital just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of her death, on Feb. 6. 

Patel served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, which put him in the Mueller's orbit when he assisted in overseeing the military operation to eliminate ISIS chief al-Baghdadi in 2019. 

"We would like to add our voices to those in support of Kash Patel’s nomination to be the director of the FBI," the Mueller's letter to Senate lawmakers and obtained by Fox News Digital reads. "Any family who has lived through such an experience will know the value of dedicated, compassionate law enforcement officials." 

"Because we have watched him at his work over time, and because we have personal experience of his dedication, we know that Kash Patel is such a person," the letter continues. "We continue to see in him a genuinely kind, thoughtful, action-oriented man who focuses on what is true and right and just. He loves our country and our citizens and wants the best for us all. He wants our country to be the best it can be." 

Patel personally has been at the Muellers side over the past five years, they told Fox News Digital. He has stood out from the crowd as a federal government employee who sincerely cares for Americans who are suffering and will pick up the phone "night or day" to speak with them following the tragic loss of their daughter. 

"I'm confident if I texted him right now, he would get back to me before this interview is over," Carl Mueller said. 

'BEACON OF SELFLESSNESS': ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER HONORED AT CONGRESSMAN'S SWEARING-IN 10 YEARS AFTER DEATH

NATIONAL SHERIFFS' ASSOCIATION SLAMS STATE OF POLICING UNDER BIDEN, THROWS FULL SUPPORT BEHIND PATEL FOR FBI

Patel previously served as a public defender in Florida’s Miami-Dade area, as well as a Department of Justice official during the Obama administration, when he won awards for his prosecution and conviction of 12 terrorists responsible for the World Cup bombings in 2010. 

Patel hit the national radar during Trump’s first administration, including when he worked as a national security advisor and senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the leadership of then-Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

The Muellers reflected on the first time they met with Patel at the White House nearly five years ago when he served on the National Security Council, and how he told them to contact him at any time with questions about their daughter or to just talk.

"We actually met Kash — we were back in D.C. at the White House, and he actually came to us and found us. That's the first time we met him and wanted us to go meet with him and National Security Advisor, [Robert O'Brien]. So that's how we first came to meet him. So it's been almost five years ago. And they wanted to sit down and talk with us about Kayla. And we told them that we were working, and we're still working with, [former FBI agent] Ali Soufan. And they told us to continue to work with him and they would help in any way they could. And so that was our first meeting," Marsha Mueller said. 

In their letter endorsing Patel, the Muellers reflected on the nominee's note to them encouraging them to reach out, which came as a departure from their treatment under the Obama administration, they said. 

"It was actually after that first meeting when we met him, and he wrote us the note, and he said, ‘Please contact me at any time, day or night, with whatever questions you may have, or simply if you just need someone to speak with. I'll always answer your call.' And, you know, he's kept every promise he's ever made to us, as we knew we would from meeting him that first time," Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital. 

PARENTS OF ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER REFLECT ON THEIR LOSS

The Muellers previously spoke out against the Obama administration's handling of their daughter's captivity in Syria, repeatedly saying she would not have been murdered if Trump was in office when she was taken hostage. Carl Mueller underscored the conviction in his interview on Monday, adding that the second Trump administration not only reopens lines of communication for his family, but extends hope to families around the country who have loved ones in the hands of terrorists. 

"We didn't want to forget to mention to the families of current American hostages that their chances of getting their loved ones home have exponentially increased with the Trump administration in there," Carl Mueller said. "As I said before, if Trump would have been in office, Marsha and I are convinced that Kayla would be home. And we feel that he will do everything to get current American hostages. So just a word of encouragement and hope for them, because we know that sometimes hope is all they have." 

Then-President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the family following Kayla's death in 2015, vowing that the U.S. would bring the terrorists to justice.

"She has been taken from us, but her legacy endures, inspiring all those who fight, each in their own way, for what is just and what is decent.  No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s captivity and death," Obama said at the time, just roughly four years before the Trump administration wiped out ISIS's leader. 

Kayla Mueller's remains have not been recovered, but the couple believes the second Trump administration reinvigorates efforts to bring her and other hostages who have been murdered back to the U.S. 

I WORKED WITH KASH PATEL TO EXPOSE THE RUSSIA HOAX AND KNOW HE'S THE BEST PICK TO REFORM THE FBI

"We believe [the Trump administration] will work closely with Ali Soufan to help us find Kayla and hopefully other hostages that were killed and bring them home as well," Marsha Mueller said, referring to a former FBI agent who has worked with the Muellers across the years following Kayla Mueller's captivity and murder. 

Patel, if confirmed, will replace former FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom the Muellers also lauded as a compassionate man who has also helped their efforts across the years. Looking ahead to the next four years, they said they are "very fortunate and looking forward to more progress and finding Kayla through the Trump administration." 

Patel is set to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as the final leg of his nomination process kicks off in earnest. Patel has been on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate lawmakers to rally support for his nomination, earning praise from conservative lawmakers such as Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as endorsements from key law enforcement groups, such as the National Sheriffs' Association. Patel is expected to face an uphill battle overall to secure the nomination, as Democrats balk that he lacks the qualifications to lead the law enforcement agency and would politicize the agency.  

GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL OFFER SUPPORT FOR TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL, URGE SENATORS TO DO THE SAME

The Muellers explained that even when Patel was no longer serving in the first Trump administration, he met with the couple and other families suffering from losing a loved one to terrorist captivity. The Muellers were among family members who attended the trial of ISIS terrorist El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the so-called "ISIS Beatles," who admitted to his involvement in and knowledge of Kayla Mueller's captivity. 

Elsheikh's trial was held in 2022, when he was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia and sentenced to eight concurrent terms of life imprisonment for holding four American citizens, as well as British and Japanese nationals, hostage before their deaths. 

Patel joined the Muellers and other affected families during the trial, the couple explained, meeting them and "anyone that wanted to talk with him" at their hotel and speaking to them for maybe an hour. 

KAYLA MUELLER’S PARENTS PRAISE TRUMP, SOLDIERS FOR RAID THAT KILLED AL-BAGHDADI

"It was not just the Americans that came down when we were sitting there with him," Marsha Mueller said. "Actually, people from other countries did, too, because … he was willing to sit and talk with us. I was really deeply touched by that."

"But, you know, there was no reason, he was not in government anymore. But yet it was still in his heart and soul for justice," she said. 

The couple reflected on the past decade, when they first learned their daughter was murdered, remarking that Obama administration officials "will have to live with" their failure of not bringing the American citizen home before her death. 

Marsha Mueller also read her daughter's letter to her family while she was held captive, including a portion of the note that was not widely reported. 

"We always like Kayla to speak for herself. And there's a quote out there that most people know, but they don't know what she said after that quote, and if I can get through it, she said, 'I've known for some time what my life's work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering.' But she went on to say, 'that is my life's work, but my family is my life.'"  

"That's Kayla," Marsha Mueller said through tears. "She loved us. We love her. And we encourage her to go out and help all the people she could in this world." 

• Behrouz Esbati, an Iranian general, partially blamed Russia for the fall of Bashar Assad in Syria.
• In a speech in Tehran, Esbati accused Russia of bombing an empty desert instead of hitting Syrian rebels.
• While difficult to verify, his frank remarks are notable since Russia is one of Iran's strongest allies.

A top Iranian general has accused Russia of lying to Tehran by saying its jets were attacking Syrian rebels while they were instead bombing the open desert.

In a rare break from Iran's diplomatic line on Syria, Brig. Gen. Behrouz Esbati partially blamed Moscow for the fall of Bashar Assad's government during a speech at a mosque in Tehran.

An audio recording of the speech was published on Tuesday by Abdullah Abdi, a journalist in Geneva who reports on Iran.

"We were defeated, and defeated very badly. We took a very big blow, and it's been very difficult," Esbati said of Assad's fall, according to a translation by The New York Times.

In the recording, Esbati, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Russia told Tehran it was bombing the headquarters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group spearheading Assad's ousting.

But Moscow's forces were instead "targeting deserts," Esbati said.

Esbati further accused Russia of turning off radars when Israel launched strikes on Syria in 2024, allowing Tel Aviv's forces to attack more effectively.

The general also largely blamed internal corruption for Assad's fall, saying bribery was rife among Syria's top-ranking officials and generals.

He added that relations between Damascus and Tehran grew tense over the last year because Assad refused an Iranian request to facilitate attacks on Israel through Syria.

Business Insider couldn't independently verify Esbati's claims. But they represent an exceptionally frank assessment among Iran's top ranks of its position in Syria, where a new political leadership is still coalescing in Assad's absence.

Iran officially held a much milder tone as Assad's government fell, saying at the time that the fate of Syria would be up to its people and that it "will spare no effort to help establish security and stability in Syria."

Assad, a longtime ally of both Iran and Russia, fled Damascus in early December as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces stormed toward the capital from the northwest. International observers believe the rebel advance largely happened as Moscow, a key source of military strength for Assad, found its resources stretched thin by the war in Ukraine.

The Russian defense ministry didn't respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

Esbati's remarks came as a former senior aide to Assad told the Saudi government-owned outlet Al Arabiya on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had stalled military assistance for Syria.

Kamel Saqr said that Assad had asked Putin to personally approve airlifting military aid to Syria — and that the Russian leader agreed.

The aid was to be transported via Iranian aircraft, but Saqr said Tehran told Assad it didn't receive any requests from Moscow.

Assad then asked Moscow about this, but "no answer came," Saqr said.

Assad's fall, which neither Moscow nor Tehran stepped up to prevent, has brought deep implications for Russia's forces in the region. Moscow had previously relied on an airbase and a naval base, which it maintained under a deal with Assad, for its operations in Africa and the Mediterranean.

It's unclear whether Russia will eventually be able to continue maintaining those two facilities, but reports show that it's preparing to move much of its equipment out of Syria. On Friday, Ukraine said Moscow was planning to move its assets to Libya.

• A former aide to Bashar Assad discussed the recent collapse of the Syrian government.
• He pointed to a "trick" by Russia's Vladimir Putin in an interview with Saudi media.
• Russia was unwilling to come to Assad's rescue as rebels advanced.

A former aide to Syria's deposed President Bashar Assad described how he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin contributed to the country's collapse.

Speaking to Al Arabiya, a news outlet owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, Kamel Saqr said Putin stalled on a high-stakes effort to broker military help to Assad's forces.

That, he said, left them too weak to repel the rebels who ultimately overthrew Assad in December.

Assad had long relied on support from Russia and also from Iran to maintain power through Syria's long civil war.

Per Saqr's telling, both allies looked the other way as collapse loomed.

Assad was in Moscow as rebels seized control of Syria's second-biggest city, Aleppo, on November 29.

Saqr said in the interview that, during the trip, Assad asked Putin to help transport weapons from Iran via a Russian-occupied base in Syria.

"Bashar al-Assad's request to Putin was for him to personally handle the secure aerial transportation necessary to deliver military aid to support or stop the advance of the Syrian opposition," Saqr said.

His description of behind-the-scenes events could not be verified by Business Insider.

According to Saqr, Putin agreed to the request for arms to be transported using Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria.

"But what happened," he said, "was that the Iranians told Bashar al-Assad, 'we did not receive any signals to proceed with moving Iranian aircraft to the Hmeimim base [or to] fly through Iraqi airspace to land at the base.'"

"The question was relayed to Moscow, but no answer came."

The Al Arabiya interviewer asked whether the failed maneuver was down to a "trick" by Putin, and replied that there was "no other explanation."

The Kremlin at the time would not confirm reports Assad was in Moscow as rebels advanced. Saqr told Al Arabiya that he started to believe something was off after the Kremlin refused to release a joint press statement after the leaders met.

Russia and Iran were Assad's two chief international allies, but as rebels began driving back government forces in a lightning advance, neither stepped up to help.

Analysts say that Russia was too distracted by its invasion of Ukraine to offer significant support. Iran and its ally Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militia, were both badly weakened in their clashes with Israel.

As rebels advanced on the capital, Damascus, Russia flew Assad and his family out of the country, providing them refuge in Moscow.

Saqr, in the interview, said Assad had waited several hours on December 8 at Russia's Hmeimim base for his flight out, ending the Assad family's five decades in power.

"My information suggests that he stayed at the base for several hours until the plane was secured, prepared, and its takeoff and flight to Moscow were ensured," Saqr said.

• A Russian attack submarine that was stationed in Syria has officially left the Mediterranean Sea.
• The departure of the Kilo-class Novorossiysk leaves Russia without any known submarines in the region.
• The uncertain fate of Russia's naval presence in Syria amid other setbacks could spell trouble for its submarine force.

Strategic Russian naval bases have been upended by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, creating headaches for the Kremlin's navy, including its submarine force.

Moscow no longer appears to have any attack submarines in the Mediterranean Sea after NATO forces spotted its last known submarine leaving the region last week.

Portugal's military said that it observed a Russian Kilo-class submarine moving through the country's continental exclusive economic zone near northern Spain on Friday. NATO Maritime Command later identified the vessel as the Novorossiysk.

The Novorossiysk was spotted several weeks earlier at Tartus, a naval base in Syria that Russia had used for years. The future of Moscow's military footprint at the facility — and in the country in general — was, however, thrown into uncertainty after the shocking collapse of the Assad regime last month.

There are indications that Russia is drawing down forces at its bases in Syria. Losing Tartus for good would be a significant blow to Moscow's navy — including its capable submarine force — which relies on the warm-water port to project power across the region and beyond.

Early December satellite imagery showed the Novorossiysk docked in Tartus, but by the middle of the month, it was gone, along with the rest of the Russian warships that had been there. Some of the Russian naval vessels have been spotted in recent weeks loitering off the Syrian coast, but the whereabouts of this submarine were less certain.

Should Syria's new leadership decide Russia can no longer station its forces at Tartus, it would mark another setback for Moscow's navy, which has suffered a string of stunning losses in the nearby Black Sea since the start of the full-scale Ukraine war nearly three years ago.

Ukrainian forces have used missiles and naval drones to damage or destroy dozens of Russian naval vessels, including one of six improved Kilo-class submarines Moscow's Black Sea Fleet operates, during the conflict.

These attacks have forced Moscow to withdraw the Black Sea Fleet from its long-held headquarters in Sevastopol, a major city in the southwestern corner of the occupied Crimean peninsula, across the region to the port of Novorossiysk along western Russia's coast. If Russia is unable to move back into Sevastopol, that creates complications.

For Russia, losing the ability to keep submarines at Sevastopol and Tartus is less than ideal.

Bryan Clark, a former US Navy officer and defense analyst at the Hudson Institute, said that the remainder of the Kilo-class vessels are based in St. Petersburg, where there is a large naval facility and dry docks for maintenance.

"The Russians are now having to redeploy their submarine force back up to the north" instead of relying on warm-water ports that "you could get in and out of them year-round," Clark told Business Insider. "St. Petersburg, you can't get in and out of year-round."

Recent developments also seriously undermine Russia's military influence in the Mediterranean and southern Europe, Clark said.

The Novorossiysk is a newer improved Kilo sub. Submarines of this class are diesel-electric vessels and formidable long-range strike platforms that can attack ships and land targets, deploy for weeks on end, and stay relatively undetected. They are effectively Russia's most capable non-nuclear subs and can carry Kalibr missiles.

Russia has kept a Kilo-class vessel in the region for years. The boat's departure from the region, though Russia could ultimately opt to move another sub into the area later, may signal a broader decline in Russian naval might in the Mediterranean.

In four years, Russia appears to have gone "from being a pretty big player in the Med — in terms of naval forces — to now being a nonexistent player," Clark said.

Russia's basing challenges could ultimately hinder its ability to project power. The uncertainty with Tartus and nearby Hmeimim Air Base — underscores a broader issue for the Russian military.

Satellite imagery captured on Monday by Maxar Technologies, a commercial imaging company, shows no obvious signs of any major Russian naval vessels at Tartus, as has been the case for weeks. Ukraine's military intelligence agency has said Russia is withdrawing from the base.

Whether Moscow is able to negotiate an arrangement with the new Syrian leadership to stay in the country or is forced to relocate to a new hub in North Africa to sustain its operations remains to be seen.

• Russia is planning to move military gear from its naval base in Syria, Ukrainian intelligence says.
• It comes amid uncertainty around Russia's role in Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad.
• Ukraine said the military equipment was headed for Libya, where Russia has a strong influence.

Russian ships are preparing to transport military equipment from a naval base in Syria to Libya after the fall of Bashar Assad late last year, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

Defense Intelligence of Ukraine wrote on Telegram on Friday that two cargo ships, the Sparta and the Sparta II, were headed toward the Syrian port of Tartus, with the first set to arrive on January 5.

It said they will be used to transport military equipment and weapons to Libya.

DI Ukraine also said that three other ships — the Alexander Otrakovsky, an Ivan Gren-class large landing ship, and the tanker Ivan Skobelev — are scheduled to arrive in Tartus in the coming days.

Ukraine did not say how it obtained the information, which Business Insider was unable to independently verify.

The flurry of movement comes around a month after the fall of Bashar Assad, the longtime ruler of Syria who was considered a close Russian ally.

Assad's ousting, following a rapid two-week campaign by rebel groups, was seen as a sign of the weakening of Russia's grip on the region.

Last month, Ukraine said that Russia was sending vessels to evacuate weapons and military equipment from Tartus.

Russia's lease on the Syrian naval base, as well as its air base at Hmeimim, gave it sweeping abilities to conduct military activity across Africa and the Mediterranean.

Its hold on those bases is now unclear, although in a recent interview Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said, "We don't want Russia to exit Syria in a way that undermines its relationship with our country," Radio Free Europe reported.

In its Telegram post, Ukraine said that Africa Corps troops — Russian mercenaries previously under the control of the now-defunct Wagner Group — were also gathered at Tartus.

It added that a Russian naval brigade commander, Davityan Yuriy Albertovich, was reportedly on board one of the ships.

Russia's Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Libya, where Russian equipment is said to be headed, is a major hub for Russian activities in Africa, according to a July 2024 Atlantic Council report.

"Strategically positioned at the crossroads of Africa and Europe, it provides Russia with a gateway to its operations in Sudan, Chad, Niger, and other Sahel and Central Africa countries, eventually projecting power and influence across these regions," it said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said it is readying to increase its involvement with Syria, which is under the effective control of rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he planned to re-establish diplomatic relations with the country "after years of Russian interference," adding that "I really hope that post-Assad Syria will respect international law."

He also said he is readying to supply Syria with grain, according to RBC-Ukraine.