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Syria

June 25, 2026

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Supreme Court backs Trump move to end Syrians’ deportation protections

The decision affects some 6,100 Syrians who live in the United States.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Syria’s energy push could soon get a major boost from Chevron: What to know

The country's leaders are seeking to translate a flurry of oil and gas agreements into concrete investments and rebuild an industry devastated by more than a decade of war, sanctions and isolation.

Defendant Wassim al-Assad appears before the Fourth Criminal Court during the opening session of his trial in Damascus on June 24, 2026.

Syria opens trial of Wassim al-Assad, cousin of ousted president: What we know

The trial follows another session in the case against Atef Najib, also a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, as Syrian authorities continue prosecuting figures linked to the former regime and its remnants.

Latest News

Syria announces direct flights to Amsterdam as Europe links expand

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s Sharaa says he had ‘multiple discussions’ with Trump on Lebanon, favors dialogue

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025.

Culture

In Syria, detention of Hassan Akkad raises alarm about free expression under Sharaa

Hassan Akkad speaks about fleeing Syria in 2015 and his work as a filmmaker at a BAFTA event, Sept. 2023.

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

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

What Israel stands to lose in Syria-SDF agreement

The agreement signed Jan. 18 for the integration of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian state will bolster not only Turkey, Israel’s foe, but also President Ahmed al-Sharaa while he negotiates a security deal with Israel.

A member of the Alawite community pastes on a wall, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli , on December 6, 2007, pictures of Syrian opposition leader Rifaat al-Assad (R) and his son Ribal.

Rifaat al-Assad, perpetrator of Syria's 1982 Hama massacre, dies at 88

Known for his role in the 1982 Hama massacre, the late member of Syria’s former ruling family oversaw the killing of tens of thousands of civilians.

Soldiers walk past a parked car as Syrian government forces make their way to the city of Hasakeh in northeastern Syria on Jan. 20, 2026.

Syria’s Kurds accept sweetened ceasefire deal as US envoy Barrack declares SDF obsolete

The ceasefire follows intense clashes and a rapid Syrian military advance in the Kurdish-held northeast, amid concerns over ISIS prisoners.

US President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, Nov. 10, 2025.

Trump demands end to clashes with Kurds in call with Syria's Sharaa

US President Donald Trump called Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and secured a pledge from the leader to not enter al-Hasakeh as Syrian forces clashed with the Kurdish-led SDF.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - JANUARY 18: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa signs a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 18, 2026 in Damascus, Syria. According to Syrian state media, the deal includes a handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa governates into government control, and the full integration of SDF fighters into state institutions. It follows the government's recent push towards the key city of Raqqa, after SDF fighters withdrew from Aleppo amid deadly clashes over the

Erdogan welcomes Syria-SDF agreement, urges full implementation

Turkey has welcomed the agreement as key to domestic peace efforts with the outlawed Kurdish militants.

Syrian government troops stand guard next to a burning tyre along a street of Tabqa, in Raqa province, on the southwestern banks of the Euphrates on Jan. 18, 2026.

Bowing to US pressure, Syrian military advances, Kurdish-led SDF agrees to Sharaa's terms

Syrian government forces rapidly retook Raqqa and key eastern territories from the US-backed SDF, prompting a ceasefire agreement that effectively restores Damascus’ control over much of Syria’s oil-rich northeast.

LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images

Syria’s Sharaa declares Kurdish a national language, recognizes Nowruz

Syria's interim president surprised the country's Kurdish citizens with a decree enshrining their culture and language as an "inseparable component of Syria’s unified and diverse national identity."

US special envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025.

Exclusive

US envoy Barrack to meet Kurdish SDF chief Kobane in bid to avoid Syria escalation

The US special envoy to Syria is expected to meet SDF leader Mazlum Kobane in Erbil amid mounting tensions that threaten to unravel a fragile agreement between the Kurdish-led administration and Damascus.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

Members of the Kurdish forces hold a portrait of Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler which reads "Shame on the killers of innocents in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood" during a protest by Syrian Kurds against violence they say was committed by Syrian government forces during recent clashes in Aleppo's Kurdish neighbourhoods, in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Jan. 13, 2026.

Syria declares 'closed military zone' east of Aleppo as Kurds protest

The Syrian government accused the Kurdish-led SDF of mobilizing in the area, reflecting ongoing turmoil following a ceasefire.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City. — Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Syria’s Sharaa heads to Davos, ending years of global isolation

The World Economic Forum begins on January 19 and ends on January 23, hosting a cohort of around 400 political leaders.

Sheikh Hikmat Salman al-Hijri is pictured at Qanawat, the headquarters of the Druze spiritual presidency, on Dec. 28, 2024, in Suwayda, Syria.

Syria Druze leader Hijri calls for independent entity, says country ‘heading toward partition’

Controversial Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri, in Syria’s southern province of Suwayda, praised Israel as the only party he said intervened to stop the killing of Druze during a wave of unrest last summer.