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October 3, 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

Syria's political prisoners share stories of abuse on Beirut stage

A play by former political prisoners in Syria is showing audiences the devastating reality of abuse in Middle Eastern jails while offering a kind of therapy for those effected.

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu (R) stands next to his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman as as they look at pictures of Jews killed in the Holocaust during a visit to the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1504C794D0

Will Israeli defense minister's exit impact Russia-Israel cooperation on Syria?

The resignation of Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has triggered discussion in Russian circles about whether the departure of a man deemed a staunch advocate for a "special relationship" with Moscow will affect Benjamin Netanyahu's cooperation with Vladimir Putin on Syria.

Demonstrators march carrying flags to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in Damascus, Syria April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - GF10000392605

Why Syrian Armenians are avoiding Turkey

While most Syrian ethnic groups, including Kurds, Turkmens, and Syriac Christians, seek refuge in Turkey, Syrian Armenians do not.

U.S. troops are seen during a patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1C4759D040

Turkey 'won’t be duped' by US in Syria

Washington’s decision to place a bounty on the heads of the PKK leadership has been met with suspicion and derision in Ankara.

A Turkish flag flutters on a military vehicle on the border of Manbij city, Syria November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1DD5250CE0

Turkey's trigger finger grows itchy over US-Kurd relations

Turkey is probing ways to penetrate Kurd-controlled areas east of the Euphrates River, but the United States doesn’t seem ready to give up its relationship with the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin leaves after a lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, France, November 11, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1EC88496F0

Putin, Netanyahu struggle to mend ties in Paris

Despite the brief meeting on the margins of the Paris Peace Forum, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu seem to have failed to fully mend bilateral ties damaged over the downed Russian spy plane.

Crossing between opposing forces opens near Idlib, Syria

Despite sporadic fighting, a crossing between forces of the Syrian regime and its opposition has reopened in Morek.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate the first anniversary of Raqqa province liberation from ISIS, in Raqqa, Syria Ocotber 27, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1C0393FB70

Intel: How the return of the Kurds changes the Syria fight

Russia sends its own signals on Libya by hosting Hifter

Russia's military embraces Khalifa Hifter ahead of intra-Libyan talks in Palermo that kick off today, but does it signal a shift in Moscow's attitude toward the Libyan crisis?

United Arab Emirates

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands at a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC16134E6CB0

Putin pivots to Europe for next play on Syria

Russian president intensifies diplomatic push; Erdogan goes "big" to leverage the Khashoggi murder with the Trump administration; Oman emerges as Israeli-Palestinian broker.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a bilateral meeting during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1720F3A620

Israel pins hopes on American sanctions against Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman pin their hopes on the American sanctions against Iran to destabilize the Tehran regime and force it to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

Saudi Gulf Affairs Minister Thamer Al-Sabhan (L) speaks with Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev during a Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 22, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC19F177B570

Russia braces for new diplomatic push on Syria

Russia's frenzy of diplomatic and military activity around Syria in recent days suggests Moscow is pushing its own initiatives before a new UN envoy on Syria takes the reins and before Democrats take control of the House in the United States.