Diplomats from the US State Department have arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus to meet the new interim government formed by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a group Washington designates as a terrorist organisation.
This is the first visit by US officials to Syria since rebel groups deposed Bashar Al Assad earlier this month, signalling Washington's readiness to engage with HTS, an offshoot of Al Qaeda that later renounced ties with the terrorist group.
The US has a $10 million bounty on HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara, now Syria's de facto ruler, who says the group has shed its extremist stance.
The State Department said Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, former special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein and the Biden administration’s chief envoy for hostage negotiations, Roger Carstens, would hold talks with Syrian civil groups as well as the interim government.
“They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” the department said in a statement released early on Friday.
The trip comes a week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had been in direct contact with HTS as he toured Syria’s neighbours, and follows diplomatic overtures by the EU and other countries that signal an end to Syria's pariah status under Mr Al Assad.
The State Department said Ms Leaf, Mr Rubinstein and Mr Carstens would meet HTS officials but did not say if that included Mr Al Shara, who has projected a moderate image since the takeover of Syria. US officials have welcomed Mr Al Shara’s statements about protecting minority and women’s rights, but they remain sceptical that he will follow through on them in the long run.
The visiting US diplomats will seek information on the whereabouts of American journalist Austin Tice who went missing in Syria in 2012. Tice, whose work has been published in The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and others, disappeared at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus as the Syrian civil war intensified.
A video released weeks after Tice went missing showed him blindfolded and held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. The Assad government denied that it was holding him.
The US diplomats will also push the principles of inclusion, protection of minorities and a rejection of terrorism and chemical weapons that the Biden administration says will be critical for any US support for a new government.
Last week, Mr Al Shara met Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, in Damascus, who said the international community will “hopefully see a quick end to sanctions, so that we can see really a rallying around building up Syria again”.
The US has not had a formal diplomatic presence in Syria since 2012, when it suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus during the country’s civil war, although US troops have been stationed in the north-east to help prevent the resurgence of ISIS.
The Pentagon revealed on Thursday that it has doubled the number of US forces in Syria. The US has also significantly stepped up air strikes against ISIS targets over concern that a power vacuum would allow the extremist group to reconstitute itself.
The diplomats' visit to Damascus will not result in the immediate reopening of the US embassy, which is under the protection of the Czech government, according to US officials. Decisions on diplomatic recognition will be made when the new Syrian authorities make their intentions clear, the officials said.
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
