Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a plan: it’s called Vision 2030. The underlying infrastructure of his visionary project calls for regional stability. Syria had been in chaos and a deadly civil war beginning in 2011. Now after the fall of the Assad regime, Saudi Arabia has reached out a hand to help Syria to recover. The Saudi $6.4 billion commitment to Syria is not just a financial investment, but is a sign of the Saudi commitment to keep Syria from falling victim to Israeli plans of partitioning…

On June 22, the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. advanced a bill from Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican representing New York. H.R. 4427 is the Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025, and has prompted Democrats and Republicans to work together in support of the bill, while others of both parties are working against it. If the bill passes into law, it would allow President Donald Trump to permanently lift key sanctions on Syria in two years if certain conditions are met by the government in Damascus. Among the conditions is…

By:Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The news is the same each day about Gaza. More deaths, more starvation and more suffering. Yesterday, at least 32 people were killed and more than 100 injured after Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of starving Palestinians at a free food distribution hub in southern Gaza, the only free food available in all of Gaza. Eye witness survivors of the massacre told reporters that they were shot at, they laid down on the ground, but jeeps and tanks arrived which continued to shoot at the defenseless people laying face-down on the ground. The hub…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Israel attacked the defense ministry building twice, and near the presidential palace in Damascus on July 16. As the afternoon traffic drove by in the heart of the city, huge plumes of smoke billowed from the landmark building. This was the third day of Israeli airstrikes on Syria. Syrians have become used to Israel airstrikes. During the Assad regime, Israel carried out deadly attacks on an almost daily basis, eliminating Hezbollah and Iranian weapons supplies. After the fall of the regime on December 8, Israel carried out daily airstrikes across the country eliminating military…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has said he is hopeful about Lebanon’s future after meeting officials and discussing the need to disarm Hezbollah, and for the full withdrawal of Israeli military forces. Lebanese officials also were positive in comments following the latest round of discussions concerning the security situation in Lebanon. All eyes have been on Hezbollah, waiting for their response, but they too have been positive, although demanding. Their main demand centers on having Israel stop occupying Lebanon. On this point, Hezbollah and many others in Lebanon regardless of party affiliation, will not budge. …

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator On Friday, PKK leaders burned their weapons in a cave in northern Iraq. “We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination,” said Bese Hozat. The conflict has taken 30,000 lives over 30-years. The group’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called for disarmament in May, and said in a video earlier this week, that the move to disarm was a “voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law”. “Today is a new day; a new page has opened in history. Today,…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met several times since Netanyahu arrived for talks. Their agenda included Gaza, Iran, Syria, and Ukraine. While the two leaders work closely together as partners, they still have differences in their views. Netanyahu has been clear that he will not stop the attacks on Gaza until Hamas is eliminated as a military group and as the governmental authority. While the families of Israeli hostages are still waiting for their government to make a deal to release those few still alive and retrieve the…

By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The wildfires burning in the countryside of Latakia are coming under control, but a few hot spots remain. Saturday night was very difficult as the winds picked up and worked against the firefighting efforts. The Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed Al-Saleh, announced in a post on the X platform, the establishment of a coordination room to deal with the accelerated expansion of the wildfires still buring on the Syrian northern coast. Hot temperatures, low humidity and gusting winds have spread the fires across a large area. Al-Saleh explained that the coordination…

By: Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The Eastern Mediterranean is no longer just a geopolitical flashpoint—it is a global energy battleground. From Libya’s contested waters to Israel’s infrastructure race and Syria’s untapped reserves, the region is witnessing a complex struggle for control over the future of gas. It has been seven months since Syrian President Assad fell, but the country has not yet begun major rebuilding projects. Foreign investors are touted as the likely savior of Syria’s collapsed economy. However, Syria has plenty of resources on hand to finance their transformation into one of the most modern countries in…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The truce between Iran and Israel is just hours old, and already on shaky grounds. Israel Katz, Defense Minister of Israel, ordered “intense strikes” on the Iranian capital, Tehran, after accusing Iran of violating a truce brokered by the United States and Qatar. Iran denied the claim and warned its Iranian security forces to stand ready to respond to any Israeli violations of the ceasefire. The military in Iran has denied launching any missiles at Israel past the official ceasefire agreement, according to Iranian official media reports. The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon…