Iran Pressures Damascus on ‘Sovereign Concessions’

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his meeting with the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the presence of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in Tehran in May 2022 (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his meeting with the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the presence of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in Tehran in May 2022 (Syrian Presidency)
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Iran Pressures Damascus on ‘Sovereign Concessions’

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his meeting with the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the presence of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in Tehran in May 2022 (Syrian Presidency)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his meeting with the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the presence of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in Tehran in May 2022 (Syrian Presidency)

When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Tehran last May, one of the urgent requests he made was to send oil to contribute to resolving his country’s economic crisis. In the past years, it has become customary for ships to violate sanctions and waterways. Assad also discussed broader regional and international issues.

This was Assad’s second visit since 2011- he visited in 2019- to express his thanks to Tehran for standing militarily, economically, and financially on the side of the regime since the outbreak of protests and the crisis more than a decade ago.

During the visit, Assad met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi. Official media reported Assad saying that “strategic relations between Iran and Syria prevented Israel from extending its control over the region.”

For his part, Khamenei said that “Syria had won an international war, and that its credibility is much greater than it was in the past.”

Assad’s visit dealt with big issues. Among them was the American presence in Syria, the coordination between Ankara, Tehran, and Moscow, and the repeated Israeli raids against Iranian sites in Syria. Moreover, the Syrian leader reviewed agreements between Israel and Arab countries.

Iranian sources quoted Khamenei as saying that “some leaders of neighboring countries of Iran and Syria are sitting with the leaders of Israel, but the people of these countries fill the streets with anti-Israeli crowds and slogans.”

Khamenei’s statement was considered a veiled criticism of Damascus’ position on peace agreements between Tel Aviv and Arab capitals. Syria failed to issue critical statements about the accords. Moreover, Syrian officials held political meetings with their counterparts from these countries.

Away from these major headlines, Assad, during his meetings with Khamenei and Raisi, urged Iran to send oil and oil derivatives to save the economic situation in Syria.

Iran gave a “good word” and promised to send three ships. Nevertheless, these pledged ships are still docked in Iran and have not left for Syrian coasts yet.

Damascus made the request again during the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad last July. Iran continued with its delay. The Syrian ambassador in Tehran tried to follow up on the issue a lot, but no answer came from Tehran.

Syria’s economic crisis is exacerbating, and the Iranian “procrastination” continues. Damascus was left bewildered by the delay because it is contrary to what has been the norm during the past decade.

Raisi was slated to visit Damascus on Tuesday.

During the visit’s arrangement, Syrian officials were stunned by Iranian demands and proposed draft agreements. Some of the drafts went back to previous agreements signed during a 2017 visit by Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis. Other drafts were new.

The new draft agreement, which surprised Damascus, related to how Iranians are to be treated in hospitals and scientific institutions as well as their ability to own property. In effect, Iranians want to be treated as Syrians, but if they commit a crime, Tehran requested they be tried by Iran’s justice system rather than Syrian judiciary.

This draft is like the agreement between Damascus and Moscow at the end of 2015 regarding the establishment of military bases in Hmeimim and Tartous. The Russians were given wide military, royal and diplomatic privileges, with the exception of the judiciary.

It is also reminiscent of those agreements that existed between Western countries and the Ottoman Empire after its collapse and the establishment of Turkey in the 1920s.

Tehran also insisted on obtaining “sovereign guarantees” for the money it spent. Damascus was surprised by the depth of the Iranian demands and Tehran was taken aback by Syria taking matters slowly. Contacts are still ongoing between the two countries in search of a way out of this “silent crisis” and to arrange a major visit to Damascus.

But this is not the first time that relations have gone through a crisis like this.

Tehran had suspended approval of the appointment of a new Syrian ambassador and froze the sending of oil derivatives in 2017 due to its annoyance at Damascus’ slow implementation of strategic agreements with Tehran and its acceleration with Moscow.

Khamis visited Tehran at the beginning of 2017 and signed strategic agreements. They related to an Iranian company backed by the Revolutionary Guard becoming a third mobile operator in Syria, investing in Syrian phosphate for 99 years, acquiring land for agricultural and industrial purposes, and establishing an “oil port” on the Mediterranean.

Moreover, Khamis signed an agreement for a new line of credit from Iran worth $1 billion, half of which will be used to finance the export of crude oil and oil products.

Since 2013, Tehran has provided direct and indirect support to Damascus. This includes lines of credit that exceeded $6.6 billion to finance the export of crude oil and its byproducts.

But Damascus had lost control of the oil and gas wells in northeast Syria. They are now run by US allies. Damascus’ oil production, which was about 380,000 bpd before 2011, decreased to about 90,000 bpd.

While Syrian businessmen close to Damascus and Iran worked on launching a third mobile phone network, Iran failed to get its hand on the ports in Tartus and Latakia. Rather, Russia assumed control of the ports to avoid repeated Israeli bombing.

Russian companies have also taken over phosphate investments in the center of Syria and are trying to pressure the Kurds into giving up control of oil facilities. They are trying to expand in Damascus airport and other airports. They are also involved in many economic projects.

According to a Western diplomat visiting Damascus, “Syria’s economic crisis is the worst in a decade, and Iran wants to exploit this to its advantage.”

“Tehran wants to obtain major sovereign concessions at the height of Damascus’ current need for them and Russia’s preoccupation with the Ukraine war.”

Iran wants those concessions to make up for the costs it paid during the war, amounting to about $20 billion over the past decade. It also wants to establish its influence for a long time in the face of the escalation of Israeli military pressure in Syria.



As Trump Seeks to Be a Peacemaker, Netanyahu Leaves Washington without Breakthrough on Gaza Deal

 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, arrive for a meeting at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, arrive for a meeting at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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As Trump Seeks to Be a Peacemaker, Netanyahu Leaves Washington without Breakthrough on Gaza Deal

 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, arrive for a meeting at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, arrive for a meeting at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington this week netted President Donald Trump another nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize he covets, but the ceasefire the US leader sought for the war in Gaza didn't emerge.

Despite Trump throwing his weight behind a push for a 60-day truce between Israel and Hamas, no breakthrough was announced during Netanyahu's visit, a disappointment for a president who wants to be known as a peacemaker and has hinged his reputation on being a dealmaker.

“He prides himself or being able to make deals, so this is another test case,” said Rachel Brandenburg, the Israel Policy Forum's Washington managing director and senior fellow.

Trump’s ability to strike a ceasefire deal in the 21-month war will reveal the boundaries of his influence with Netanyahu, especially after their recent joint strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities that both leaders touted at the White House this week.

Beyond the back-to-back meetings Trump and Netanyahu had at the White House this week, there was little public evidence of progress at a time when the Republican US president is pushing to end the fighting.

‘Closer than we’ve been,’ but challenges remain

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that when it comes to a ceasefire in Gaza, “we’re closer than we’ve been in quite a while and we’re hopeful, but we also recognize there’s still some challenges in the way.”

Rubio, who spoke to reporters while traveling in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, also said that Trump “wants to see a ceasefire and we’ve invested a lot of time and energy.”

Beyond ending the bloodshed, ending the war in Gaza would give Trump more leeway to strike some of the broader agreements he seeks in the Middle East, such as expanding the Abraham Accords that started in his first term and normalizing relations with Syria’s new government.

“He wants to be the one who gets hostages home and see the war in Gaza end so he can move on to some of these bigger deals,” Brandenburg said.

Even if a truce is reached, Netanyahu has promised fighting will continue if necessary until Hamas is destroyed. The group, meanwhile, has conditioned the release of the remaining hostages on Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, a stipulation Israel has been unwilling to accept.

Trump-Netanyahu relationship sees a rebound

It’s unclear how much pressure Trump put on Netanyahu in their private talks this week. But the two leaders came into the visit seeming more aligned than ever — at least for now — fresh off the president having twice come to the Israeli leader’s assistance.

Trump made the risky move to join Israel’s attacks on Iran last month, delivering pivotal US firepower while alarming world leaders and some of Trump’s “America first” supporters. Trump also inserted himself into Israel’s domestic affairs, calling for Netanyahu’s yearslong corruption trial to be thrown out.

That’s a marked turnaround in their relationship, which had appeared somewhat strained in recent years.

Trump shocked some of his fellow Republicans and staunch supporters of Israel by publicly criticizing Netanyahu not long after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, setting off the conflict.

He said that Netanyahu “was not prepared” for the attack from Hamas and that Netanyahu had “let us down” just before the US killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Even during his last visit to the White House earlier this year, Netanyahu seemed caught off guard when Trump announced the US would hold talks with Iran over its nuclear deal rather than embrace Netanyahu’s push for military pressure.

With their military objectives aligning for a time on Iran, the Israeli leader has worked to foster a warmer relationship.

In a video he released after the US strikes, Netanyahu spoke — in English instead of Hebrew — of the “unshakeable alliance” between their countries while repeatedly praising Trump.

“His leadership today has created a pivot of history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu tries the charm offensive on Trump

In his visit to Washington this week, the Israeli leader also showed he knows how to praise the president in a way that matters greatly to him when he unveiled a letter in front of reporters and cameras to announce he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Those gestures, though, may only carry him so far as Trump pushes for a deal that Netanyahu may not be able to accept.

“I think if Netanyahu stands in the way too much for too long of the sort of loftier objectives Trump has set out for himself,” Brandenburg said, “Netanyahu will be cast aside as more of a problem than an asset.”

Netanyahu, like many Israelis, believes Trump is the greatest friend they have ever had in the White House and is deeply grateful for the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites last month.

But the Israeli leader is also under mounting public pressure to end the war as hostages languish in captivity and more Israeli soldiers are killed in guerrilla-style attacks.

Israel’s military success against Iran has given him some political capital, but if he ends the war while leaving Hamas intact, he will have broken his repeated promise of “total victory.”

His far-right coalition partners have threatened to bolt if he does that, sparking early elections that could end his nearly unbroken 16 years in power and leave him more vulnerable to long-standing corruption charges.

That may prove too heavy a price for delivering the kind of lasting ceasefire sought by Trump and demanded by Hamas. Instead, Netanyahu, who is seen as a masterful politician by friends and foes alike, is expected to thread the needle.

In a video statement on Thursday, Netanyahu said that he would agree to a “temporary” 60-day ceasefire in return for the release of half the hostages remaining in Gaza, many of whom are believed dead, and that he would begin negotiations on ending the war.

But he conditioned any lasting ceasefire on Hamas giving up its arms – something the fighters have refused to do as long as Israel occupies parts of Gaza.

If Hamas can be disarmed through negotiations, “so much the better,” Netanyahu said. “If it is not achieved through negotiations in 60 days, we will achieve it in other ways — by using force.”