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May 14, 2026

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Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Khaled Hablas

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Hablas was imprisoned for his role in the deadly 2014 clashes with the military and Hezbollah and his release follows Syria lobbying for the return of militants detained in Lebanon.

Pictured in this undated image is the Al-Thawra oil field in Raqqa governorate, as rehabilitation works continue to restore production capacity.

Syria restores Raqqa oil field in former ISIS stronghold: What to know

Before Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, national oil production stood at between 400,000 and 500,00 barrels per day before falling to under 100,000 bpd during the conflict.

Latest News

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

EU restores economic pact to pursue fuller trade ties with Syria

Kaja Kallas

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walks to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, prior to their meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Japan March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Eugene Hoshiko/Pool - RTX318XX

Tillerson to woo Turkey during Ankara visit

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a visit to Ankara later this month, as tensions between their two countries persist over US support for Kurdish-dominated groups in Syria.

Lebanese sit in front of giant posters bearing portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Lebanon's militant Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah (L), the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (R) and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) on March 1, 2016, in the southern town of Kfour, in the Nabatiyeh district during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter, Mohammed Hassan Nehme, who was killed while fighting alongside Syrian government forces in Syria.
Mohammed Hassan Nehme wa

In Syria, Iran sees necessary war

New accounts detailing Iran’s decision to intervene in the Syrian war shed light on an important and previously unknown chapter of the conflict.

A general view of Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSU1Q4

Congress wants answers from Turkey on shutdown of US aid pipeline to Syria

Senate Democrats are warning Ankara not to take out its anger over US aid to Kurds on Mercy Corps.

Men that fled areas of clashes surrender to Syrian Democratic Forces(SDF) fighters north of Raqqa city, Syria March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS12102

Wrath of Euphrates spokeswoman: Raqqa is now isolated

Islamic State militants in Raqqa are now surrounded as Syrian Democratic Forces cut off the last land route to and from the city, foretelling an imminent battle to liberate IS' capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Pavel Golovkin/Pool - RTS124IG

Whose ears burn most when Russia, Israel meet?

Moscow has been hosting an array of dignitaries recently, leaving observers to speculate on the possible topics of conversation.

Soldiers stand guard at the Jordanian-Syrian border, near Mafraq, August 16, 2015. Commander of the Jordanian Border Guard, Brigadier General Saber Mahayrah said on Sunday that there was no sign of Nusra Front or Islamist State fighters on the border between Jordan and Syria. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX1OEMO

Extremist expansion in southern Syria puts Jordan on guard

The expansion of radical Islamist factions in southern Syria has raised concerns from Jordan that these groups would pledge allegiance to the Islamic State and seek to establish an emirate on its northern borders.

American army vehicles drive north of Manbij city, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS126K2

US puts off announcing decision on Raqqa until after Turkey referendum

The US military wants to work with local forces against the Islamic State in Raqqa, but still is working out many of the details, including who should hold what ground after IS is defeated.

General Khalifa Haftar, commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA), leaves after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTSTRVH

Putin gets some payback with 'alternative project' for Libya

Why Putin backs Hifter; Barzani’s Sinjar dilemma; Israel’s missing Gaza policy; GCC moves to the margins on Syria.

Children attend a classroom in Aleppo, Syria January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RTX2YVTG

On 6th anniversary of Syrian war, education remains a casualty

In an interview with Al-Monitor, the minister of education of Syria’s opposition interim government, Imad Barq, spoke about the state of schools and education in the country and specifically in opposition-held areas.

The Elbeyli refugee camp is seen near the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, Turkey, December 1, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSU6GF

Turkey shuts down Mercy Corps' Syria aid program

International aid delivery to Syria experienced a setback March 7, when the Turkish government ordered the Syria program run by Mercy Corps from inside Turkey to close down, leaving thousands without assistance.

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al Khalid al Sabah, Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah, Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and UAE'S Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (L-R) pose for a group photo during an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al N

Gulf countries take back seat on Syria route

It seems Saudi Arabia is more interested in Yemen than in Syria these days, which explains dwindling Gulf support for Syrian rebels.

A Turkish soldier on an armoured military vehicle surveys the border line between Turkey and Syria, near the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS115IB

Turkey, US, Russia military chiefs meet to discuss anti-IS strategy

Turkey, Russia and the United States met today in Antalya, Turkey, in an attempt to find common ground in the battle against the Islamic State in Syria, but they disagree in regard to which groups in the Syrian war are terrorists.