Sam Dagher
@samdagher
Bloomberg News Senior Middle East Reporter @business. Journalist, author & researcher in the region for 20+ years. Book: http://rb.gy/m6sp3j Views are mine
Belated thank you to the @FT for putting “Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family’s Lust for Power Destroyed Syria” on the list of best 12 books “shedding light on the conflict in #Syria & its place in the wider power struggles across the Middle East” ft.com/content/d889cf…
‘Real starvation’ afflicting #Gaza, Donald Trump says. UK PM Starmer described the situation as “an absolute catastrophe” and said “people in Britain are revolted . . . at what they are seeing on their screens. So we have got to get to that ceasefire” on.ft.com/4ll1pOx
From Scott Anderson’s new book: In Dec 1977, US President Jimmy Carter visited Tehran & gave a speech in which he praised the shah’s capable stewardship of his kingdom, calling #Iran an “island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world” on.ft.com/3ILBrWF
Keir Starmer to recall cabinet as calls grow for UK to recognise Palestinian state via @FT #SaudiArabia #France on.ft.com/3H8IRml
“Major global news organizations are calling on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip and on the movement of reporters in and out of the enclave as Palestinian reporters there struggle to survive amid extreme privation” nytimes.com/2025/07/27/wor…
Lebanese filmmaker Jad Ghosn says Ziad Rahbani, who has died at age 69, “is a middle finger raised in the face of this system, reminding it of its true worth and reminding us of our potential,” via @timourazhari & Laila Bassam #Lebanon reuters.com/business/media…
My latest on #Suwayda’s tragic events: Sharaa wants to assert control over all of #Syria but the problem is that his army & security forces are largely staffed by people still acting like the sectarian rebels & jihadists that they were before #Assad’s fall bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
I met this evening with the Syrians and Israelis in Paris. Our goal was dialogue and de-escalation, and we accomplished precisely that. All parties reiterated their commitment to continuing these efforts.
Citigroup pushed a trading desk head to delete a social-media post that was critical of Israel’s actions in #Gaza and drew attention to widespread starvation in the region bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Must Read: On top of starvation, Gazans must contend with a worsening environmental disaster, report @HodaliFadwa @k3blu3 Caroline Alexander @DeniseDSLu & @BBGVisualData bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-…
“Four premature newborn babies had died at hospital in recent weeks from malnutrition. Their mothers were too weak to produce milk & the hospital did not have enough formula to give them” says British surgeon who had been volunteering at #Gaza hospital on.ft.com/3GSwjQ0
Syrian Leader Navigates Between US and Israel: Strikes and clashes expose Sharaa’s challenge in stabilizing his war-ravaged country bloomberg.com/news/newslette… via @SamDagher
Day after in #Iran via @BBCParham
Iran hangs three men and 700 people for spying for Israel I explained that this is exactly what many Iranians fear, that a humiliated regime may take revenge on its own people to restore strength and save face.
This @yarbatman quote is from a story I wrote last week, very relevant now: “If the fighting stops, Gulf states will be even more instrumental. A lot of trust will need to be rebuilt & Iran will need to save face and the Gulf can help with that” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Wary of assassination, Iran’s supreme leader mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications to make it harder to find him, reports @farnazfassihi nytimes.com/2025/06/21/wor… via @NYTimes
Full Story: Gulf states spent years working toward a detente with Iran, their historical enemy. Now they’re contemplating a potential conflict that could jeopardize their oil infrastructure, hamper their ambitious economic plans & destabilize the region bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
NEW: Gulf Arab states, especially #SaudiArabia, have been telling #Iran for months that #Israel is plotting to attack it, and that Tehran should cut a nuclear deal with President Donald #Trump fast. This warning was repeated again at a meeting in #Norway between Saudi FM Prince…
UN Says It Has Lost Track of #Iran’s Near-Bomb-Grade Uranium bloomberg.com/news/articles/…