Bashar al-Assad has propped up his regime by exploiting the Middle East’s love of an amphetamine called captagon.

Captagon is bringing in billions for Syria’s Assad regime and Iran-backed militias including Hezbollah—and it’s triggering a ...

At a recent festival honoring Syria's pistachio production, officials made promises about returning pistachio lands to their ...

As Israel continues to degrade Iranian and Hezbollah capabilities in Lebanon, Syria and Iran itself, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad faces growing pressure to manage Tehran’s presence within his ...

Since 2018 it has been formally led by Maher al-Assad, the younger brother of President Assad. Maher al-Assad is subject to Western sanctions for carrying out brutal crackdowns on demonstrators ...

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

Al-Assad ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, and shared five children with Makhlouf, Bushra, Basil, Bashar, Majed and Maher. Makhlouf was born in 1930 to a powerful and wealthy family ...

The Fourth Brigade headed by Maher Al Assad was leading the assault in the Damascus district of Barzeh, triggering a mass exodus of residents from the area, said the Syrian Observatory for Human ...