Syria Conflict

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Latest News

Explainer

Why Israel, Armenia don't benefit from hijab spat between Turkey, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at Prague Castle on Oct. 6, 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Culture

Syria reopens Aleppo's 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque after 13 years

A view of the Great Umayyad Mosque during the reopening ceremony, Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Why Syria sending troops to Yemen would be a risky bet for Sharaa

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Oct. 6, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Culture

Syria's Kurds, Arabs find common cause in battle for language rights

Youths play the daf, an Iranian frame drum, during a protest demanding the right to education in the Kurdish language in Al-Qamishli, Syria, on September 22, 2026. The demonstrations follow a decision by the Syrian Interim Government to allocate only Kurdish language classes in schools. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Billion-dollar AI, clean energy deals headline Saudi 'Davos in the Desert'

Humain, an AI firm backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, signed a $3 billion deal with AirTrunk, a company backed by US asset manager Blackstone, to build a data center campus in the kingdom.

Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction stand by a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Turkish military academies to train 49 Syrian cadets amid joint drills: What to know

The training and drills mark the first visible implementation of the military cooperation deal Ankara and Damascus signed in August.

RANIA SANJAR/AFP via Getty Images

In Saudi Arabia, Sharaa hails 'historic opportunity' for Syria investment

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa touted investment opportunities in his country as he addressed business leaders and officials at the 9th Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh.

A United Nations convoy evacuating families from Sweida moves through the buffer zone in Busra al-Harir in Syria's southern Daraa province on July 22, 2025.

Bus attack in Syria’s Suwayda kills 2 as violence flares: What to know

Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hiji is calling for independence for southern Syria’s Suwayda province as violence continues in the area despite a July ceasefire.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Patriarch John X Yazigi in Damascus, Oct. 26, 2025.

Feature

Syria's sole Christian lawmaker says she trusts Sharaa — other minorities are less sure

Syria’s only Christian lawmaker navigates a fractured political landscape as minorities and women seek representation under a new Islamist-led government.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

AFP via Getty Images

Postwar Syria receives first direct shipment from China: What to know

The commercial vessel Queen Vivian arrived at Tartous Port from China, bringing some 16,000 tons of steel and various equipment, Sana reported Monday.

Syria's internal security forces are deployed in Tadamon to secure a protest in Tadamon, Syria, on Feb. 7, 2025.

Analysis

Syria officials: US strike on jihadi commander a message to rebel holdouts

A US strike that killed a prominent rebel in Syria in early October aimed to send a message to militants who refuse to join the new Syrian national army, Syrian sources told Al-Monitor.

Cagatay Cebe

By Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus on June 4, 2025.

Feature

Inside Congress' battle to repeal Syria's Caesar sanctions

Five months after President Trump pledged to lift sanctions on Syria, the harshest penalties remain on the books.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz will be Turkey’s first ambassador in Damascus since the former ambassador left the country more than a decade ago.

Turkey taps Nuh Yilmaz as first ambassador to Syria in 13 years

Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz will be Turkey’s first ambassador in Damascus since his predecessor's withdrawal more than a decade ago.

Maj. Gen. Akram Saloum Abdullah, commander of the military police between 2014 and 2015, is pictured on Oct. 22, 2025.

Syria arrests ex-general accused of executions at Assad's 'human slaughterhouse'

The arrest comes as the new government intensifies efforts to hold former government figures accountable for crimes committed during decades of the Assad family’s rule.

HIBATULLAH BARAKAT/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

At least $216B needed to rebuild postwar Syria, says World Bank

Reconstruction costs of damaged physical assets are projected at between $140 billion and $345 billion, with a conservative best estimate of $216 billion, the World Bank reports.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Jan. 24, 2019.

Syria’s SDF releases detainees as 'goodwill' gesture after talks with Damascus

The talks on the situation in Aleppo, where a siege of Kurdish areas is reportedly ongoing, come as the Syrian government and the SDF work on a deal to integrate the Kurdish-led force into the new army.