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October 4, 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

Russia, Qatar explore partnership potential

Qatar and Russia both stand to benefit in the Middle East from closer relations: Russia needs Arab street cred and Qatar needs all the friends it can get.

Turkish-backed Syrian Arab fighters walk in the streets after seizing control of the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on March 18, 2018.
In a major victory for Ankara's two-month operation against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, Turkish-led forces pushed into Afrin apparently unopposed, taking up positions across the city. / AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian Kurdish forces cede Tell Rifaat, claims Turkish press

Ankara is already celebrating its victory over the Syrian Kurdish militia in Tell Rifaat today as dreams of a corridor under Kurdish control evaporate.

25 Jan 2016 - Sinjar, Iraq. Kurds Peshmerga walks through the ruins of the city which had a mixed population of yazidi and muslims kurds. The city has been invaded by ISIS/Daesh on the 3rd of August 2014. Sinjar has been officially liberated in November 2015 cutting the road used by the jhiadi group as a supply route between Raqqah and Mosul. The city is today a ghost town inhabited almost only by military groups such as Kurds Peshmerga, PKK, Iraqi Police and YBS (Yazidi Sinjar Resistance Units). At present

Erdogan keeps finger on trigger as PKK exits Sinjar

It's unclear whether reports of Kurdish militants' withdrawal from Sinjar in Iraq have convinced Turkey not to launch a military offensive.

Decision to declassify Syria strike sparks 'war of the generals' in Israel

The Mossad, Israeli military intelligence, the IDF and former decision-makers are all fighting for credit over the 2007 Syrian reactor bombing.

Russia, Turkey stay close despite differences in Syria

Turkey depends on Russia for civilian nuclear power plant.

Jordan, Israel hedge their bets in southwest Syria

Southwest Syria could become the next battleground in Syria's multiple regional wars amid a possible collapse in the US-Russian cease-fire agreement.

Israel's acknowledgment of Syria nuclear strike sparks security debate

The story behind Israel's 2007 attack on Syria's nuclear reactor challenges the assumption that Israeli generals are more competent than Israeli politicians at making security decisions.

Fighters from Free Syrian Army (National Brigade) demonstrate their skills during a military display as part of a graduation ceremony in the Syrian city of al-Bab, Syria September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC13EEB7DF60

Syrian opposition forms force to hold its army accountable

There's a new sheriff in town, so to speak, now that the Syrian Interim Government has established a military police unit in northern Aleppo.

Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army are deployed in Afrin, Syria March 18, 2018. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi - RC1526525050

Fall of Afrin: Turkey’s Vietnam or Washington’s nightmare?

Following the fall of the Syrian city of Afrin to Turkish forces March 18, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's threats to expand operations to other regions controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces seem credible.

Turkey demands 'respect' after taking Syria’s Afrin from Kurdish militia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the United States to support its NATO partner as it prepares to expand military operations against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

Turkey rolls into Afrin, apparently on way to Manbij

The city of Afrin, Syria, unexpectedly fell after Kurdish fighters surprisingly retreated, leaving the world watching for Ankara's next move.

An undated image released by the U.S. Government shows the suspected Syrian nuclear reactor building under construction in Syria. The White House on April 24, 2008 broke its official silence on the mysterious September 6, 2007 Israeli air strike. "We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement. The statement came after intelligence officials briefed U.S. lawmakers about the Syrian nucl

The story behind Israel's secret strike on Syria's nuclear reactor

Israel for the first time acknowledges how nearly a decade ago it located and destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor built with the assistance of North Korea.