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Syria

October 6, 2026

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A view of a traffic roundabout in central Latakia, Syria on June 12, 2025. The city's road network converges near the coast, forming one of the busiest urban intersections in the province. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE-Syria move ahead on $20 billion real estate mega-developments

Major housing and tourism projects in Damascus and Latakia are set to advance following a new agreement with UAE real estate tycoon Mohamed Alabbar.

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

Latest News

Analysis

How militias in Anbar could complicate Iraq’s energy ambitions

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)

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

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

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

A portrait of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad on January 19 at the entrance of the village of Hadar in the Syrian side of Golan Heights close to Mount Haramoun which is a stratigic site that Israel occupied with Golan Heights in 1967.The Golan is at the centre of Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations. - RTXJG3W

Help comes with dangerous strings for Syrian Druze town

The Golan Heights town of Hadar has been suffering essentially siege conditions throughout the Syrian war, surrounded by the warring factions and unfriendly neighbors and manipulated by aid from both the regime and Israel.

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars

How the IDF is plotting Islamic State's next move

Israeli intelligence expects the Islamic State to relocate after it loses the battles over Mosul and Raqqa.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS12NRL

Does Erdogan expect Trump to ditch Syrian Kurds?

US and Turkish presidents talk, agree to meeting in Washington; Saudi-Iraqi ties hit Iranian ceiling; Turkey sees al-Bab as safe haven for displaced Syrians.

Syria chemical attack unsettles Iran's chemical weapons survivors

The use of chemical weapons in Syria has led members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a fighting force that remembers the horror and uncertainty of the Iran-Iraq War, to be both angry and cautious about blame.

Foreign Ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Walid al-Muallem (L) of Syria and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTX35J4R

Russia steps up its game in Mideast diplomacy

The heavy traffic between Moscow and the Middle East after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Russia last week signals that Russia is looking to quickly solidify its relationships with regional partners.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis departs from Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt April 20, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTS135HK

Mattis' Mideast trip holds promise, reality check for Israel

The US defense secretary's visit to Israel is expected to strengthen an already solid relationship while making sure both parties are on the same page.

TOPSHOT - US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, advance in the village of Sabah al-Khayr on the northern outskirts of Deir Ezzor as they drive to encircle the Islamic State (IS) group bastion of Raqa on February 21, 2017.
The SDF made a major incursion into the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor as part of their push for Raqa, field commander Dejwar Khabat said.

/ AFP / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Image

Syrian rebel group just trying to get home

Jaish Usud al-Sharqiya, an internationally backed armed opposition group active in southern Syria, has made significant gains recently against the Islamic State in the south, but they eventually want to return to Deir ez-Zor.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, April 17, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS12NX1

Erdogan charts victory lap in Washington

Even as controversy rages in Turkey, newly empowered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to already be gaining international legitimacy and is making plans to visit Washington for formal talks.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is seen at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, U.S. April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer - RTX35G3Z

Why Israel will warmly welcome Mattis

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Secretary of Defense James Mattis are expected to discuss the threat of Iran's presence in Syria at a time when Israel is pleased with the United States' involvement in the region.

Birds fly near men riding a motorcycle through a damaged neighbourhood in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria March 4, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTS11G2W

Under Turkey's watch, al-Bab tries to rebuild

The Turkish government is working on rehabilitating the Syrian city of al-Bab after the Islamic State’s withdrawal, considering it an arrangement that benefits both sides.

U.S. soldiers take part in Exercise Eager Lion at one of the Jordanian military bases in Zarqa, east of Amman, Jordan, May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSFR5K

Will Jordan confront IS in southern Syria?

Some analysts say that recent movements and activities by the Islamic State near the Jordanian border could push Jordan to intervene militarily in southern Syria.

Free Syrian Army fighters gesture as Turkish military vehicles drive in the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai while heading towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 9, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2Y605

FSA sees 'golden opportunity' with end of Turkey's operations in Syria

The Free Syrian Army is conducting intense training in Aleppo’s countryside in preparation for future battles now that Turkey has announced the end of its operation in Syria.