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October 2, 2026

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Syria denies meeting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Turkey: What to know

Both Damascus and Ankara denied reports that Syrian officials met with Hezbollah representatives in Turkey, as relations between the two sides remain fraught with tensions mainly over the Lebanese group’s support for Assad’s forces against rebels during the Syrian civil war.

A picture taken on May 1, 2019 shows a railroad of Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know

Beirut is seeking Ankara’s support to link its ports to a railway project aiming to link Turkey to the Gulf, through Syria and Jordan.

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Syrians and continue to conduct strikes and incursions in Quneitra, fueling resentment among residents who say Damascus has failed to protect them.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraqi soldiers from the new 'desert battalion' special forces stand next to military vehicles as the take part in a graduation ceremony, after months of training by the French military, at the Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar west of Baghdad on February 29, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

Securing western Anbar is emerging as a key test of Iraq’s ability to curb armed factions, attract foreign investment and unlock the province’s vast energy potential.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Latest News

Exclusive

How Syrian Air is braving regional turbulence to rise from the ashes

Syria Air

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

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

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

Syria’s Shibani visits Latakia airport to review Russia deal progress: What to know

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visits Latakia airport on Sept. 18, 2026.

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

Turkish military vehicles ride at the Bab el-Salam border crossing between the Syrian town of Azaz and the Turkish town of Kilis, in Syria January 1, 2019. Picture taken January 1, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1AD1B9E6A0

Turkey's route into Syria full of pitfalls, uncertainties

Despite its political and military significance, US President Donald Trump’s green light for Ankara does not make Turkey’s task east of the Euphrates River any easier.

Russia has 3 messages for Turkey over operation in Syria

Russia has its eye on long-term opportunities following Turkey's operation in northeast Syria.

Protesters demand to return home to Syria's Deir ez-Zor

Displaced Syrians are calling for regime forces and Iranian-backed fighters to withdraw from Deir ez-Zor province, while the anti-regime Syrian Democratic Forces fear such protests could spiral out of control and turn against them.

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC18733A6450

Erdogan’s friendship with Trump has extra benefits

The friendship between the Turkish and American presidents thrives despite all ideological differences, so much so that elites of Turkey's ruling party view the impeachment inquiry as an act of the "deep state" or even a "coup" against Trump.

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle during a joint U.S.-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1CFC59FD70

Confusion reigns as Trump authorizes troop withdrawal from Turkish-Syrian border towns

US President Donald Trump's announcement catches Pentagon, State Department and Syrian Kurds off guard as Turkey assumes a primacy of sorts in the president's thinking despite the S-400 fiasco.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) holds a news conference to discuss immigration legislation and the U.S.-Mexico border on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC14E481C700

Trump allies in Congress assail decision to let Turkey attack Syrian Kurds

Lawmakers and presidential candidates are lambasting President Donald Trump for greenlighting Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish-held areas in northeastern Syria.

Turkish soldiers stand guard in a border village on the Turkish-Syrian border near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC17F8587730

Pentagon pushes back on Turkish incursion in Syria

The Pentagon opposed the Donald Trump administration’s decision to allow a Turkish operation in Syria, a senior administration official told Al-Monitor.

Turkish soldiers stand next to a tank near the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, Turkey January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC15B613B1F0

Turkish press reacts to pending Syria operation

Turkey’s media landscape offered mixed perspectives and reports as questions loom over a pending military operation in northeast Syria.

U.S. and Turkish military forces conduct a joint ground patrol inside the security mechanism area in northeast, Syria, October 4, 2019. Picture taken October 4, 2019. U.S. Army/Staff Sgt. Andrew Goedl/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC11BB335F30

Turkish incursion threatens to unleash Islamic State in Syria, US officials warn

The Donald Trump administration’s decision Sunday to allow a Turkish incursion into northeast Syria threatens to let loose thousands of Islamic State prisoners onto the battlefield, US officials are warning.

Why women in this Lebanese refugee camp opt for trade, not aid

A group of Syrian and Palestinian women from a refugee camp in Lebanon transitioned a struggling project into an enterprise that aims to export around the world.

How teachers plan to overcome EU funding cuts to Idlib schools

The EU has cut some educational funding allocated for Idlib province, citing interference by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the sector.

Russian soldiers are seen as they guard at a checkpoint near at Wafideen camp in Damascus, Syria March 2, 2018.REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC179242BF10

Does Russia seek 'ideological alternative' to US with Gulf security concept?

Despite popular claims that Russia's policies in the Middle East are free of any ideology, the recent Gulf security concept released by Moscow may suggest that there should be one.