Syria Weekly: July 14-21, 2026

Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline MOU signed; FM visits Saudi, Kuwait; High-level German visit; Finance Minister hosts CitiBank, IMF; Security reshuffle; Israeli escalation; key Hasakeh appointments; & more

SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

• Transition Meetings

• Appointments

• Political Developments

• Economic Developments

• Infrastructure Developments

• Education Developments

• Security Developments

• Humanitarian Developments

• Health Developments

• Justice Developments

• International Developments

CONFLICT & SECURITY:

• Israel

• ISIS

• Idlib

• Aleppo

• Latakia

• Tartus

• Hama

• Homs

• Raqqa

• Hasakeh

• Deir ez Zour

• Rif Dimashq

• Damascus

• Daraa

• Suwayda

SYRIA’S TRANSITION:

Transition Meetings:

July 14:

• President Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted a meeting with the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, on July 14.

  

• Later that day, President al-Sharaa also hosted a meeting with Lebanon’s Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Bisat, and his delegation to discuss proposals to enhance bilateral trade and commercial ties.

  

• Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh participated in a working meeting with industrialists from the Damascus area in the Golden Mezzeh hotel on July 14, during which he described his determination to “support production and strengthen confidence within the private sector.” He added that new tax law reforms had been prepared in close partnership with business leaders and were focused on simplifying procedure, reducing tax, and promoting fair competition.

  

• Deputy Governor of Aleppo Fawaz Hilal hosted a visit by the Director of Projects at the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid, Salman al-Anzi, on July 14 during which they signed an agreement to launch a new project to support the wheat production sector through the rehabilitation of irrigation networks and water pumping stations, support for wheat seed production, the rehabilitation of storage facilities, equipping seed screening stations and providing agricultural equipment and machinery to support farmers and improve production efficiency.

• CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC), Yousef al-Qablawi, traveled to the Tigris oil fields in Hasakeh on July 14 alongside the Managing Director of UK-headquartered GulfSands to review progress in the rehabilitation and development work to pre-existing and new wells.

• Governor of Daraa Anwar al-Zoubi hosted a visit from the Minister of Emergency and Disaster Response, Raed al-Saleh on July 14 during which they discussed “the operational realities of the Civil Defense Directorate in Daraa, including the readiness of its teams and their response time,” including their capacity to respond to security crises associated with Israeli military activities in the Yarmouk Basin.

• Minister of Agriculture Bassel al-Sweidan hosted a meeting with Sudanese Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Ismat Qureshi Abdullah on July 14 to discuss activating pre-existing agreements to cooperate, including with Syrian assistance in wheat seed productivity for Sudan and Sudanese offers of assistance in “conservation agriculture, livestock, capacity building, and genetic improvement.”