Syria’s Captagon drug economy faces disruptions due to the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, with Hezbollah’s focus on fighting Israel threatening Syria’s financial reliance on drug smuggling. Meanwhile, the IDF has intensified strikes against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza and Syria, aiming to counter PIJ’s coordination with Hezbollah and Iran. A report by the Middle East Institute highlights the deep-seated alliance between Assad and Hezbollah, which secures Iran’s influence in Syria despite Israel’s continued attempts to weaken it. Separately, Iran’s Saipa car factory in Syria has closed after years of financial struggles, illustrating setbacks in Tehran’s economic influence. Finally, opinion pieces on Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence show contrasting perspectives: Michael Brendan Dougherty defends her anti-intervention stance as a grounded approach in Syria, while Kareem Rifai warns that her pro-Assad history could compromise U.S. intelligence.
How Syria’s Drug Economy Is Shaken by Hezbollah-Israel Conflict
Rizik Alabi reports that Syria’s Captagon drug trade, crucial for President Bashar Assad’s regime, faces serious disruption due to ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Captagon, a synthetic stimulant, has become a key revenue source for the Assad government and its ally, Hezbollah, which aids in drug smuggling across the Middle East.
This lucrative trade’s weakening, according to The Media Line reported, caused by Hezbollah’s preoccupation with its war against Israel, threatens Syria’s economy, particularly since the regime relies on drug profits for military funding.
Alabi explains that international sanctions have targeted high-ranking figures within the Assad regime tied to Captagon smuggling, including Maher Assad, the president’s brother, and Hezbollah-linked operatives. In recent years, both groups have built extensive drug networks across the region and beyond, trafficking even to Latin America and Europe. Financial support from Iran remains integral to Hezbollah’s operations, but the group’s current conflict is cutting into these economic lifelines.
The Israeli assassination of Syrian businessman Baraa Qatirji, involved in financing Hezbollah through Iranian-backed deals, illustrates the stakes of the ongoing conflict. Residents in Damascus are already experiencing a shortage of Captagon, reflecting the broader economic and social effects of the war on the drug trade.
Concluding the report, Alabi highlights calls from experts and political analysts for a concerted international response to Syria’s drug trade. Without stronger intervention, Hezbollah and Assad’s regime are expected to continue exploiting illicit revenue streams to sustain conflict and regional destabilization.
IDF Targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad Commander in Gaza and Operatives in Syria
The Israeli army announced that it had conducted a precision strike in Gaza City, killing Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander Alkaman Abed Elslam Khalil Anbar. According to the IDF, Anbar was responsible for directing rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and played a significant role in the Iran-backed organization’s weapons manufacturing operations.
In addition to the strike in Gaza, the IDF targeted a PIJ command center in the Mazzeh suburb of Damascus, Syria. The November 14 and 15 operations focused on PIJ members in the area, with Israel accusing Syria of providing sanctuary for PIJ and supporting Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.
Mazzeh, a Damascus suburb known for housing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah personnel, has been a focal point for IDF operations against Iranian influence in the region over the past year. The IDF’s ongoing campaign aims to disrupt PIJ’s external operations and weaken its coordination with Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned groups threatening Israeli security.
Assad and Hezbollah hunker down in Syria
The Middle East Institute published a report analyzing Assad and Hezbollah’s fortified position in Syria amid heightened regional conflict. The report, part of a strategic initiative exploring U.S. partnerships to counter Iran’s influence, highlights Syria’s central yet often overlooked role in Iran’s agenda. Despite Assad’s attempts to keep Syria relatively insulated from broader Middle Eastern tensions, his regime remains deeply intertwined with Iranian interests, including partnerships with Hezbollah.
The report underscores the sustained presence of Hezbollah across Syria, with forces stationed in multiple regions, including Damascus, Homs, and Aleppo. Hezbollah’s strategic hold extends to military research facilities and covert operations along the Golan front, making Syria a valuable stronghold for the organization. While Israel’s recent strikes on Hezbollah’s logistics routes into Lebanon have inflicted tactical damage, these measures are insufficient to disrupt the organization’s deep-seated influence.
Syria’s enduring crisis is further complicated by a thriving war economy, dominated by organized crime and drug trafficking, particularly of Captagon, which fuels both domestic turmoil and Assad’s ties with Hezbollah and Iran’s IRGC. As Assad’s regime shows no sign of abandoning this alliance, Hezbollah’s entrenched role in Syria seems set to persist, with regional dynamics post-Oct. 7, 2023, only reinforcing the status quo.
Iran’s car factory in Syria shuts down, reflecting broader setbacks
An Iranian state-owned car assembly plant in Syria has closed after nearly 20 years, marking yet another blow to Tehran’s economic ambitions in the war-torn country, where it continues to maintain a significant military presence, Iran International reported.
The head of Iran-Syria chamber of commerce, Saeed Aref announced that Saipa, the sole Iranian automaker active in Syria, has ceased production, and no other Iranian factories in the country have become operational, citing unresolved issues between the two countries.
“Iranian companies are still active in providing infrastructure for Syrian industries, exporting technical and engineering services, and carrying out essential and specialized infrastructure repairs,” he added.
The announcement comes as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s special representative, Ali Larijani, visited Damascus and Beirut, signaling ongoing efforts to strengthen Iran’s regional influence. However, Iran’s economic footprint in Syria remains disproportionately small despite its costly military involvement during the civil war.
The story of Saipa’s factory in Syria began during the Mohammad Khatami administration in 2004, with construction initiated as part of an ambitious bilateral project.
By 2007, the Pride model’s production line was inaugurated in Homs in the presence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The project, dubbed Siveco, saw Saipa owning 80% of the company while the Syrian government held a 20% stake.
During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, Saipa’s Syrian operations became emblematic of the Islamic Republic’s broader industrial ambitions abroad, with plans to produce up to 15,000 vehicles annually.
A similar initiative by Iran Khodro aimed to establish a factory in Syria in 2009. Yet, these ventures struggled to achieve success as civil war began in 2011, and repeated attempts to reach profitability largely faltered.
I’d Take Tulsi’s Record in Syria over the CIA’s
In an op-ed in the National review, Michael Brendan Dougherty argues that former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s record on Syria reflects a more grounded and patriotic approach compared to the CIA’s flawed interventions. Dougherty highlights Gabbard’s military service and her skepticism toward U.S. alliances with extremist groups within the Syrian opposition, which, he argues, inadvertently strengthened terrorist factions like al-Qaeda’s branch, al-Nusra.
He critiques the intelligence community’s strategy, pointing out instances where U.S.-backed rebels committed atrocities or redirected American support to adversaries.
Dougherty contends that Gabbard’s stance against U.S. involvement in Syria is a response to these misguided policies, contrasting her commitment to countering extremism with what he sees as the CIA’s reckless strategy. He concludes that Gabbard’s critical perspective, grounded in firsthand experience, is preferable to the intelligence community’s complex entanglements in Syria.
Senate must protect our intelligence community from Assad ally Tulsi Gabbard
In an a separate op-ed, Kareem Rifai argues in the Hill, that Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence is a threat to U.S. national security due to her pro-Assad stance and history of opposing U.S. intervention in Syria.
Rifai recounts Gabbard’s controversial actions, such as meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017 and questioning U.S. retaliation for the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, which killed dozens of Syrian civilians.
Gabbard, he says, has often voiced skepticism about U.S. support for Syrian opposition forces and endorsed Russia’s intervention in Syria, despite reports of Russia and Assad targeting civilians. Rifai suggests Gabbard’s views align dangerously with pro-Assad propaganda and urges the Senate to reconsider her nomination due to her alignment with authoritarian regimes in the region.
