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June 10, 2026

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A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

Speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Washington on Tuesday, Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Yousef Qiblawy said Iraq's overland oil exports through Syria have expanded rapidly in recent months.

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

Turkish and Saudi officials signed agreements as part of a Turkish push to revive the Hejaz Railway linking Turkey to the Gulf through Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jaunary 12, 2017. - The aircraft arrived as part of an order for 100 other Airbus planes with a list price of around $20 billion (19 billion euros) on December 22, placed after the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic republic. It will be used for internal flights landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport. (Photo by ATTA

Israel-Iran escalation grounds flights across parts of Middle East

Iran suspended flights across all airports after Israeli strikes hit the country.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

How Iran war created unexpected economic beneficiaries

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is reshaping global energy and trade flows, creating opportunities for economies far beyond the Middle East.

Latest News

Egypt rejects Syrian ambassador as ties strain under Sharaa

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) chats with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they arrive for a family photo after a working session of the European Council and regional partners as part of an informal meeting in Nicosia on April 24, 2026.

What Barrack’s expanded role in Syria, Iraq signals for US policy

US ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (R) welcomes Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili (C) at the headquarters of the foreign ministry in Baghdad, August 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR36FB9

Iran Focused on Elections, Syria, Not Iraq

Baghdad has some breathing room as Iran has been preoccupied with elections and the war in Syria.

A Syrian refugee, who fled the violence in Syria, is seen at the Domiz refugee camp in the northern Iraqi of province Dohuk July 25, 2012. The number of refugees that have fled to Iraq's Kurdistan region is in excess of 11,000 refugees, and they are settled in the region's three provinces: Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniya. As for the Domiz refugee camp, the number of refugee families reached 696 families, equivalent to 2,800 people, but on the other side of the camp, where young refugees are, the number of refu

Iraqi Kurdistan Region Struggles To Cope With Syrian Refugees

Syrian refugees have been flowing into the Iraqi Kurdistan region, making the need for international assistance more pressing than ever.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad carry the national flag as they ride on motorcycles in Qusair, after the Syrian army took control from rebel fighters, June 5, 2013. Syrian government forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies seized control of the border town of Qusair on Wednesday, dealing a major defeat to rebel fighters battling to overthrow Assad. REUTERS/Mohammed Azakir (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10CO4

Assad's Days Numbered? Think Again

Too many analysts and journalists have based their pronouncements of Assad's "numbered days" on wishful thinking.

Arab-Americans Discover Forefathers in Little Syria

Since the uprisings, more Syrians are arriving in the United States and finding that they have a long and rich history in New York City.

Lebanese and Syrian supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, celebrate in Qusair June 9, 2013, after the Syrian army and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters took control of the town from rebel fighters in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTE

Whether Qusair Will Tip The Balance Remains to Be Seen

The defeat of Syrian opposition forces in Qusair may be a turning point toward a deepening of the conflict or a catalyst for a peace conference.

United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping soldiers from Austria stand on an observation tower near the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights June 10, 2013. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, may prevail in the more than two-year-old uprising against him, Israel's intelligence minister said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS) - RTX10ISS

UN Forces in the Golan Perpetuate Israeli Occupation

The withdrawal of the Austrian UNDOF forces from the Golan Heights should remind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the UN is not in charge of Israel's security in an occupied territory.

A picture taken on June 8, 2013 shows Syrian army soldiers gathering ammunition from a tunnel in the village of Buweida, north of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have now seized all of the Qusayr area in central Syria, state television reported, as troops overran the last rebel bastion in the area. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

Syria’s War of Tunnels

An exclusive report from Qusair.

A Free Syrian Army fighter sits at his checkpoint as civilians walk along a passageway separating Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr, which is under the rebels' control and Al-Masharqa neighborhood, an area controlled by the regime, June 5, 2013. Picture taken June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Aref Hretani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10DHX

Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurdish Militias

Fights erupted between Kurdish militias and groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in northern Syria after allegations the Kurds did not support an embargo on two Shiite villages in Aleppo.

Syrian refugees watch the convoy of Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring as he visits Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 30, 2013. Goldring is currently visiting Oxfam's work with refugees on the Syria/Jordan border. REUTERS/ Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION CONFLICT) - RTXZ4X7

UN Must Address Syrian Humanitarian Tragedy

While the UN issued the biggest financial appeal in its history, a humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Syria and for Syrian refugees abroad.

Syrian refugees walk at Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYZOH

Jordan Jittery as Assad Troops Advance

The Syrian government’s victory at Qusair has forced Jordan to reconsider its more calculated policy toward Syria.

Lebanese and Syrian supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad celebrate in Qusair June 9, 2013, after the Syrian army and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters took control of the town from rebel fighters in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED

Syrian Opposition Divided Over Geneva II Conference

While the Syrian government and the internal opposition are ready to seek a political solution, the external opposition is refusing to attend Geneva II.

Syrian Kurds demonstrators hold flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Derik, Hasakah November 1, 2012. Around 1,000 Syrian Kurds protested in the north-eastern Syrian town of Derik on Thursday, demanding the re-opening of Kurdish-language schools they said were closed by President's Bashar al-Assad's regime. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT EDUCATION) - RTR39VNY

Russia Enlists Syrian Kurds For Geneva II

The Supreme Kurdish Council of Syria is ready to participate in the Geneva II conference.