Levant in August 2026: the most important developments in politics
In the Levant in August 2026, Syria's accounting with the Assad era dominated political developments. On August 11 a court in Damascus sentenced former President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia, together with eight others linked to his government, for killings and torture during the civil war; his whereabouts remain unknown. A cousin, Wassim al-Assad, received a death sentence on August 18, and the Assad-era grand mufti life in prison on August 24. Lebanon handed an Assad-era general to Damascus on war crimes charges, the first such transfer since Assad's fall.
Syria's standing abroad shifted. On August 9 Syria and Russia agreed on the future of the Tartous and Hmeimim bases after 18 months of talks, ending their military use and turning civilian sites over to Syria. On August 25 the United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after 47 years, lifting a major obstacle to investment; Saudi Arabia welcomed the step. The same day the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announced their dissolution and integration into the Syrian army. President Ahmed al-Sharaa later named the group's commander, Mazloum Abdi, as his adviser.
Israel, Turkey and Syria were in tension. Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib province on August 18, drawing international condemnation, and the US envoy to Syria called the strike an unnecessary escalation. Turkey denied Israeli claims that its troops were at the base. Turkey issued a new arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu, who said Israel would not tolerate aggression in Syria. On August 23 Syria's foreign minister said security talks with Israel should resume soon, after meeting the head of Mossad in Jordan.
In Lebanon, the seventh round of talks with Israel ended in Rome on August 6, and the sides agreed on a shortlist of countries to verify Hezbollah's disarmament, which the US and Israel later said was not a deal on foreign troops. Israeli strikes killed 11 people on August 15. On August 20 the US redesignated Hezbollah as a terrorist group under Iranian control, and Hezbollah rejected a deal with Israel on August 28. Talks are to continue in September.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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