Charles Lister
@Charles_Lister · Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Yemen
Charles Lister directs the Syria and counterterrorism programs at the Middle East Institute and is a leading authority on Syria's armed factions.
If you're interested in #MiddleEast art & culture, you'll want to attend the opening of the @MiddleEastInst's latest exhibition: - El Marsam: Modern & Contemporary Art from #Egypt More than 40 celebrated works are on show, tracing nearly 100yrs of art: https://t.co/3p7M28VgBX
A huge disinformation campaign has been running for days now, claiming #Suwayda is "under siege." Total fiction. Local sources & NGOs are all reporting normal traffic movement -- people & commerce -- along the #Damascus-#Suwayda highway. If anything, there's been an increase. https://t.co/vajMHoEKVs
The #Syria government's governor to #Suwayda has begun a series of meetings with provincial education & service officials from inside #Suwayda. But their identities are being blurred out from photos. Why? Because they'd risk 'disappearing' if Hikmat al-Hijri's gunmen found out. https://t.co/6KXfoZJ2xl
The @USTreasury delegation also met with #Syria's Finance Minister for discussions on further "strengthening financial cooperation" and "integrating #Syria into the global financial system." Step by step, things are moving forward after *decades* of isolation. https://t.co/w1bmcpwLiT
A delegation from @USTreasury is in #Damascus, #Syria today. They met this morning with the Central Bank, alongside senior officials from Syrian banks & exchange companies. With the SST out of the way, the path ahead for financial re-connection is very much in play. https://t.co/Aa4pxQ9HSN
NEW -- #Syria's Governor to #Suwayda Mustafa Bakkour says he met with a "committee" coming from #Suwayda city to discuss planning a facilitated return of displaced people to their villages & homes in gov't-held areas. No full deal on the details/logistics, but a good sign. https://t.co/Kwopcef7Iu
NEW -- 3 more #Syria citizens were released from arbitrary detention in #Israel today. That makes 14 released in 6 weeks (x3 on Sep 9; x4 on Aug 26; x3 on Aug 19; x2 on Aug 5; x2 on July 29). There is very clearly something at play here. These releases have come from nowhere.
We're 48hrs from the 9/11 anniversary, so a new onslaught of articles is emerging & as usual, they miss the wood from the trees -- claiming either that #AlQaeda is "dead" or it's secretly preparing a huge resurgence. Both designed for clicks. Both lacking a grip with reality.
Around 15,000 women in #Syria have signed up to join the Interior Ministry's police forces. Hundreds have passed through training already, with most trainers being reconciled former #Assad regime employees. @subhash_anagha reports -- https://t.co/SunnIUsfy6
Elections, elections, elections. #Netanyahu traveled into sovereign #Syria territory today, declaring: "#Damascus is here... we control the entire area... this is total control never seen before... one of our major accomplishments, but there's still more work to do." https://t.co/76Zl6Pu6zs
NEW -- for the first time in 15yrs, the IAEA (@iaeaorg) has just removed #Syria from its list of non-compliant states. This follows a year of IAEA missions to #Syria & #Damascus' active facilitation of access to all former #Assad regime nuclear sites.
Drug traffickers in #Suwayda launched 4 waves of balloons carrying ~500,000 captagon pills to #Jordan overnight -- all were intercepted. Jordan captured a drug trafficker trying to cross over hours earlier. That's 1.05 million pills (~$15 million street value) seized in a week. https://t.co/wJcRNimsRp
Beyond securing a flurry of investment deals & high-level visits, #Syria also just witnessed its least violent week in more than 15 years. For all details -- and a lot more, read the latest #SyriaWeekly newsletter: https://t.co/fRlMSIyJt6
For the record, #Damascus' Laique School made this decision on its own accord -- it had nothing to do with any government official or entity. That's been covered by @VeSyria. If there's a question to be asked, it's to the school's leadership -- and how the decision was made.
Syrians in #Daraa (the south) are reporting a large salvo of #Iran missiles flying over their skies tonight. In #Iran, media says 35 ballistic missiles were launched at U.S. military bases in #Jordan.
15 days after the #Trump admin removed #Syria's SST designation, @Google Gemini is now available across #Syria. Syrian users can now use Google's AI assistant in full. https://t.co/1fZkDofB7W
#Israel's military actions in #Syria may amount to "war crimes," says @UNCoISyria. https://t.co/0k4bka8Br0 In the last 4 weeks alone, #Israel has conducted: - 70 air & artillery strikes - 71 ground incursions - 13 arrests per https://t.co/kpzurpe8OH's exclusive daat.
In the past week, #Jordan intercepted 550,000 captagon pills launched aboard heavy-lift GPS-guided balloons from #Suwayda's southern desert. In the 14 months since Hikmat al-Hijri took control, drug trafficking from #Suwayda to #Jordan has surged 380%. https://t.co/hcl2aK8IyU
Make sure to read today's #SyriaWeekly newsletter, covering: - High-level German, EU visits - Investment deals for #Damascus, #Aleppo, #Raqqa, #Homs - Highway projects proceed - Conoco Gas plant restarts - #Qatar-#Syria Holding Company launches + more https://t.co/fRlMSIyJt6
Important statement by @USAMBTurkiye Tom Barrack, condemning the rule of [Hikmat al-Hijri's] "gangs" & their "toxic motives" in #Suwayda whose latest crime was to besiege, kidnap & expel notable Atef Hunaidi. Barrack says the US gov't is now in contact with Hunaidi in #Damascus. https://t.co/H9WtaVECTX
12 days after the #Trump admin removed #Syria's SST designation, @Microsoft has opened online store & app access to #Syria. For the first time, users can download apps, games & updates directly. https://t.co/TOn5jHjFv1
If the #YPJ had been integrated into #Syria’s MOD, they’d assume the MOD’s only responsibilities: demining & border control. The MOI integration proposed makes much more sense, as the MOI is responsible for counterterrorism & all other domestic combat roles. That’s the story.
#Syria's Health Minister, Musab al-Ali, is a neurosurgeon who left his career in #Germany to serve in the new gov't in 2025. He has no military background whatsoever -- but some will still spin fictional stories for social media clicks. This was at #Damascus International Fair. https://t.co/lPszbLGuMp
In May, I wrote an exclusive article looking at a covert #Hezbollah campaign to train, equip & dispatch #Syria insurgent cells to undertake attacks. A recent cell arrest in #Lebanon has confirmed almost everything I wrote back then: Important -- https://t.co/onEUPYs3hS
The removal of #Syria's SST designation has triggered a surge in diplomatic engagements & investment deals. In the past week alone, more than $8.5 billion of agreements have been signed. In addition, @Cisco is reportedly planning to establish an "Academy" in #Damascus.