Explosions in Damascus Won’t Shake Macron’s Faith in Sharaa

Unwavering Support

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was hoping to demonstrate Syria’s shift toward democracy during his first Damascus-hosted summit with a major Western leader on Tuesday. Instead, French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic visit was marred by violence as explosions in the capital—the second such attack this month—injured at least 18 people. No group has claimed responsibility for either attack.

Just two years ago, Sharaa had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head for his ties to al Qaeda. However, since ousting longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Sharaa has implemented democratic reforms in an effort to rebrand his (and his country’s) global image. In a little more than a year, Syria has joined the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, convinced the European Union to lift all economic sanctions on Syria, signed investment deals worth tens of billions of dollars to rebuild the war-torn country, and allowed millions of Syrian refugees to return home.

Yet bouts of violence by religious and ethnic minorities have plagued Sharaa’s efforts. Many groups remain skeptical of his agenda. Across the country—particularly in regions with large Alawite, Druze, and Kurdish communities—hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between government forces and minority rebels. And on Thursday, a bombing at a crowded café in Damascus killed at least 10 people and injured more than 20 others.

However, Macron’s faith in Syria’s future appears to be unwavering. “Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria,” Macron wrote on X on Tuesday just hours after the explosions. “This morning, I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination.”

Macron signaled his support for Sharaa’s government by carrying out his scheduled meetings even after the explosions had occurred. During these talks, the two leaders signed more than a dozen agreements, including a pact to reappoint their ambassadors for the first time in roughly 14 years.

“France is ready to be a partner,” Macron said, adding that Paris will return more than $50 million in confiscated assets that once belonged to Assad’s family.

Tuesday’s deals also included new efforts to bolster cooperation in healthcare, transportation, and banking. French investment dominated discussions, with the CEOs of TotalEnergies and French container shipping group CMA CGM accompanying Macron in Damascus. Regional security issues were also addressed, as Macron warned Sharaa against deploying Syrian forces to Lebanon—a strategy that U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested could be useful to fight Hezbollah—and Sharaa pushed for greater Syrian influence in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Syria, which shaped its recovery and reconstruction priorities by the hands of its own people, opens its doors today to an equal partnership,” Sharaa said on Tuesday in a joint press conference with Macron. “A partnership that repositions Syria as a secure and vital connecting node and an indispensable civilizational and economic bridge between East and West.”

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What We’re Following

NATO summit, Day 1. NATO chief Mark Rutte unveiled two new defense spending initiatives on Tuesday that aim to appease Trump, who has repeatedly criticized the alliance for relying too heavily on Washington for its security. The projects, worth billions of dollars, are part of Rutte’s so-called NATO 3.0 strategy, which seeks to strengthen trans-Atlantic defense cooperation to help member states reach their new minimum spending threshold.

Yet many of Trump’s frustrations with NATO remain. On Tuesday, he once again blasted European countries for failing to adequately aid the United States during its war against Iran. “Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down,” Trump said, referring to how some of those governments initially refused to allow U.S. forces to launch strikes on Iran from their bases.

Trump also expressed frustration with NATO’s refusal to give Washington control of Greenland, which he maintains is vital to U.S. national security. And he warned against left-wing policies across the European continent, saying, “They better be careful with immigration and energy. If they’re not careful with those two things, you’re not going to have a Europe anymore.”

Not everyone was met with Trump’s ire. The U.S. president agreed on Tuesday to lift sanctions on Turkey that were imposed in December 2020 after Ankara purchased Russia’s S-400 missile defense system. Removing these sanctions is likely to help Turkey begin the process of regaining access to the United States’ F-35 fighter jet program.

Legal troubles. A French appeals court on Tuesday issued a ruling that has reversed the political fortunes of far-right figure Marine Le Pen, clearing the way for her to run for president. In March 2025, a French criminal court found Le Pen guilty of embezzlement and banned her from seeking public office for five years—effectively scrapping her 2027 presidential bid. Tuesday’s court decision upheld that conviction but reduced her sentence, allowing her to run for elected office, but only if she wears an electronic ankle tag for a year. Hours later, she announced her candidacy.

Le Pen isn’t the only far-right European politician making legal waves. Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage resigned from Parliament on Tuesday to force a special by-election for his seat, which he vowed to run for again. The surprise announcement appears to be an attempt to stifle a parliamentary watchdog’s investigation into his financial affairs. Farage’s political opponents allege that he broke parliamentary rules when he received an undisclosed gift of roughly $6.7 million from a cryptocurrency billionaire and separately failed to declare benefits provided by George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster and political ally of Farage.

“Let me be absolutely clear, I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all,” Farage said on Tuesday. He has argued that he received the $6.7 million gift before winning his parliamentary seat representing the constituency of Clacton, in Essex, in 2024. “I have decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” he added, calling it a “people versus the establishment” by-election.

Renewed attacks in Hormuz. Several oil and gas tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were damaged on Tuesday in what U.S. and regional officials said were attacks conducted by Iranian forces. The targeted vessels included a Saudi-flagged crude supertanker and a Qatari-flagged tanker that was carrying liquified natural gas.

This was the first time that a Qatari carrier has been targeted since the Iran war began on Feb. 28; Qatar has acted as a mediator in negotiations between Tehran and Washington, including for talks focused on securing the strait. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said the tanker had tried to cross through a U.S.-backed Omani route and was targeted after repeatedly ignoring Iran’s warnings.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, Iranian officials ordered a Liberia-flagged tanker believed to be the Al Maryah to sail closer to Iran’s coast after it attempted to transit the strait via Omani waters. Washington has repeatedly urged commercial vessels to use a route that avoids Iran’s maritime territory, but Tehran has warned that any attempt to circumvent the Iranian-approved path will “only lead to further complications, delays in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and an increase in tensions.”

In response to the attacks, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control revoked the general license allowing Iran to sell its oil without violating sanctions restrictions. That license was issued as part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Washington and Tehran signed last month. “As President Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the MOU in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official told reporters. The U.S. Treasury said it would allow a wind-down period until July 17 for Iranian oil transactions ​that had been allowed under the license.

Odds and Ends

Norway’s World Cup wins just keep coming: The Nordic team’s victory over Brazil on Sunday propelled it into the quarterfinals. Everyone from kindergarten students to Norway’s armed forces is getting into the Viking row spirit. But it’s not just soccer fans who are following the action. Star striker Erling Haaland has caught the fashion world’s attention for his collection of luxury Hermès bags, including a Haut à Courroies worth around $45,000 on the resale market and a Togo leather Birkin worth around $33,000. Because one must look stylish both on and off the pitch.