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Syria

September 25, 2026

Damascus 7:55 am

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Gargash

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

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

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

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

Syria is seeking to ensure that the August deal to turn Russian facilities in the country into joint training centers is implemented.

Hibatullah Barakat / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Lebanon charges 5 in alleged Hezbollah operation to train Assad loyalists

A Lebanese military court has charged the five, including an Assad-era Syrian officer and Hezbollah members, with running a cross-border security network planning attacks in Syria’s coastal region.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Former Assad official sentenced to 60 years in US for torture

Samir Ousman Alsheikh was convicted by a jury in March of three counts of torture, one count of conspiracy to commit torture, visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud.

Latest News

Culture

Syrian singer Assala returns to Damascus stage after 15-year exile

Assala Nasri (C) attends the 2025 Joy Awards at The Venue, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 18, 2025.

Syria’s Sharaa talks economic ties with UAE leader: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, Sept. 15, 2026.

Fuel price protests in Syria continue for second day: What to know

Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images

UN watchdog formally ends probe into Assad-era nuclear sites

Two women stand before graffiti on the cemetery wall for victims of the chemical massacre, on Aug. 21, 2025 in Zamalka, Syria.

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

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa holds a joint press conference with the Turkish president following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, on Feb. 4, 2025.

Syria’s Sharaa to sign deal at White House to join anti-ISIS coalition

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said the Syrian president will formalize his country’s entry into the US-led alliance next week.

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.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and special envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn speaks during a session on reconciliation and reconstruction at the 2019 World Economic Forum.

White House withdraws Rayburn’s nomination for top Mideast policy role

Decision raises questions about future role of the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs Bureau as the Trump administration relies on special envoys to cut through bureaucracy with big promises for a region still reeling from interlinked wars.

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