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Syria

May 18, 2026

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in Syria

UAE-Syrian ties have moved faster than expected, with Abu Dhabi embracing President Ahmad al-Sharaa and relations shifting from normalization to investment opportunities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A Syrian citizen exchanges old banknotes for new notes released and distributed by the central bank, at a bank in the capital, Damascus, on Jan. 3, 2026.

Interview

UK fintech brings foreign currency accounts to Syrians at home

The launch comes as Syria’s new government attempts to stabilize the country’s shattered economy following the January 2025 rise to power of President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad.

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

Latest News

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Khaled Hablas

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

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

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.

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 couple walks the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Building as snow falls in Washington, January 30, 2010. A winter storm blew across the Eastern Coast of the United States on Saturday, bringing 6 inches (15 centimetres) of fresh snow to the nation's capital. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT) - RTR29NXB

Congress to scrutinize Obama’s Islamic State strategy

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 9.

A Kurdish boy waves a Kurdish flag during celebrations after it was reported that Kurdish forces took control of the Syrian town of Kobani, in Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood of Aleppo January 27, 2015. Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a monitoring group said, a day after Kurds said they took full control of the northern Syrian town following a four-month battle. REUTERS/Hosam Katan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4N52W

Aleppo's displaced find refuge in Kurdish regions

The residents of Aleppo are fleeing the regime’s shelling toward the north, mainly to Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood, where the local council tries its best to meet their needs.

A woman reporter runs with a rebel fighter to avoid snipers at the frontline against the Islamic State fighters in Aleppo's northern countryside October 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jalal Al-Mamo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR49POS

Syrian Kurdish journalists confront danger to report on war

Kurdish journalists talked to Al-Monitor about their experiences on the battlefield in Syria's northeastern provinces.

Syrian ethnic Kurds demonstrate after Friday prayers in the Syrian town of Qamishli May 6, 2011. The banner reads "We call for a new constitution in which all sects and nationalities in the country can participate". REUTERS/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR2M2TY

Will 'Kurdish Spring' redraw Middle East map?

A critic looks at “Kurdish Spring: A New Map for the Middle East,” a new book by David Phillips that could become a main reference on the Kurdish struggle.

Turkish army special force members stand guard during the EFES-2010 military exercise in Izmir May 25, 2010. REUTERS/ Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY) - RTR2ECRB

Are Turkish troops guardians or accidental hostages at Syrian tomb?

Delayed rotation of Turkish troops guarding the Tomb of Suleiman Shah in Syria is causing frustration.

Jordan's King Abdullah (C) meets with members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Senators Robert Menedez (D-NJ) (L) and Bob Corker (R-TN) (R) in Washington February 3, 2015. Jordanian King Abdullah cut short a visit to the United States on Tuesday after Islamic State militants released a video purporting to show a captive Jordanian pilot being burnt alive. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4O3XM

Jordan's king tells Congress 'gloves are off' in fight against IS

Key lawmakers endorse $1 billion aid package after airman slain.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters ride their vehicles along a road on Mount Sinjar December 22, 2014. On Sunday, Kurdish and Yazidi fighters battled to take the Sinjar back from Islamic State after breaking a months-long siege of the mountain above it. Seizing the town would restore the majority of territory Iraq's Kurds lost in Islamic State's surprise offensive in August. Picture taken December 22, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4J2WC

Kurdish rivalry delays victory in Sinjar

Kurdish forces celebrated a joint victory at Kobani, but they have become rivals in the fight against the Islamic State in the Mount Sinjar area.

Lebanese army troops drive an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in the village of Ras Baalbak in the eastern Bekaa Valley near the border with Syria during clashes between Islamist fighters and Lebanese troops on Jananuary 23, 2015, leaving casualties on both sides. Gunmen launched a large-scale attack on an army outpost close to Ras Baalbek, near Lebanon's eastern frontier with Syria, an area that has seen regular incursions from militants fighting in Syria's war. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should

Latest attack in Lebanon sends message on IS endgame

Clues about the militants’ ultimate designs for the country can be found in the most recent attack by insurgents on the Lebanese border.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jafari holds a press conference in Tehran on September 16, 2012. Jafari said members of his elite special operations unit, the Quds Force, are present in Syria and Lebanon but only to provide "counsel." AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/GettyImages)

Hezbollah strike was 'minimum response,' warns Iran commander

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also stated that Israel should 'await a stronger response.'

Israeli soldiers are seen next to a sign post pointing to the village of Ghajar near Israel's border with Lebanon January 28, 2015. A Hezbollah missile strike wounded four Israeli soldiers on Wednesday, the biggest attack on Israeli forces by the Lebanese guerrilla group since a 34-day war in 2006. Israeli artillery fired at least 22 shells into open farmland in southern Lebanon after the strike, a Lebanese security source said, and thick smoke rose over the area. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY

Disputed Alawite village caught between Israel, Hezbollah

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Bilal Khatib of the Ghajar municipal council explains the unique situation of the village; located on the Israel-Lebanon-Syria border and residents' fear of being targeted.

Smoke from Israeli shelling covers the Lebanese town of Al-Majidiyah (L) on the Lebanese border with Israel as the town of Al-Ghajar is seen on the right on January 28, 2015. Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack against a military convoy in an Israeli-occupied border area. AFP PHOTO / ALI DIA (Photo credit should read ALI DIA/AFP/Getty Images)

Hezbollah's tactical shift against Israel

Hezbollah is opening another front against Israel in the Golan Heights, where it can blame other organizations for possible escalations.

Red Crescent members and residents remove a dead body from a damaged site after what activists said were air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma eastern Al-Ghouta, near Damascus January 25, 2015. Islamist fighters struck the Syrian capital with at least 38 rockets on Sunday, killing seven people, a monitoring group said, in one of heaviest attacks on Damascus in over a year. State media confirmed the attack and said at least four people were killed. It said the army was ret

Rockets fall on Damascus

Jaish al-Islam began a wide-scale rocket attack on Damascus in response to the Syrian regime’s shelling of eastern Ghouta, which allegedly killed civilians.