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June 10, 2026

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A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

Speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Washington on Tuesday, Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Yousef Qiblawy said Iraq's overland oil exports through Syria have expanded rapidly in recent months.

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

Turkish and Saudi officials signed agreements as part of a Turkish push to revive the Hejaz Railway linking Turkey to the Gulf through Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jaunary 12, 2017. - The aircraft arrived as part of an order for 100 other Airbus planes with a list price of around $20 billion (19 billion euros) on December 22, placed after the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic republic. It will be used for internal flights landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport. (Photo by ATTA

Israel-Iran escalation grounds flights across parts of Middle East

Iran suspended flights across all airports after Israeli strikes hit the country.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

How Iran war created unexpected economic beneficiaries

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is reshaping global energy and trade flows, creating opportunities for economies far beyond the Middle East.

Latest News

Egypt rejects Syrian ambassador as ties strain under Sharaa

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) chats with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they arrive for a family photo after a working session of the European Council and regional partners as part of an informal meeting in Nicosia on April 24, 2026.

What Barrack’s expanded role in Syria, Iraq signals for US policy

US ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.

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

Palestinian students gather in the campus of Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City on February 21, 2013. The university has denied reports that it has decided to impose a "strict" Islamic dress code on female students. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinian refugees from Syria struggle to attend Gaza's universities

Palestinian university students who fled the violence in Syria are facing many difficulties in the Gaza Strip, as the authorities have backtracked on promises to exempt them from fees.

Women walk past as Lebanese army soldiers, gather at the site of Tuesday's explosion, in the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut January 22, 2014. A suicide bomber killed four people on Tuesday in a residential neighbourhood of southern Beirut known for its support of Shi'ite military and political group Hezbollah, security sources said. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17PH5

Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs live in fear of attacks

Following a string of attacks by extremist groups targeting the mostly pro-Hezbollah southern suburbs of Beirut, locals in this area carry on with their lives, although with tightened security measures.

Palestinian workers build houses for Jewish settlers in the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim July 26. Building on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, Israeli Radio said on Sunday. - RTXI53F

Settlement mayor: Renouncing Jordan Valley will destroy Likud

Ma'ale Adumim settlement Mayor Benny Kasriel says, ''Anyone who'll concede the Jordan Valley will find himself out of the Likud Party.''

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara January 28, 2014. Erdogan, keen to maintain economic growth ahead of an election cycle starting in two months, has been a vociferous opponent of the higher borrowing costs sometimes needed to bolster currencies, railing against what he describes as an 'interest rate lobby' of speculators seeking to stifle growth and undermine the economy. REUTERS/Umit Bek

Erdogan visit to Iran to address Syria, economic ties

The visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tehran will offer an opportunity to defuse tensions on Syria while expanding economic relations.

Pope Francis waves before releasing doves during the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican January 26, 2014.
REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX17V3O

Pope's statement in Davos a rare moment of hope

Pope Francis' statement read at Davos was a counterbalance to political unrest and economic uncertainty around the world.

U.N. special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi speaks to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (R) during a news conference after the Geneva-2 peace talks in Montreux January 22, 2014. An international conference on Syria ended on Wednesday, with Ban calling on both Syrian delegations to work sincerely for a solution to the nearly three-year-old conflict. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17Q4I

Brahimi saves his energy for Geneva III

The Geneva II conference may not achieve even minor agreements, much less peace.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (C) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani open a ceremonial valve during an event to mark the official start of oil exports from the autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil June 1, 2009. Iraq's Kurdistan region said on Monday it hoped to be producing 1 million barrels per day of oil within the next 2-3 years, despite discord with the Arab-led government in Baghdad over Iraq's oil wealth. REUTERS/Safin Hamed/Pool (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS ENERGY BUS

Russia's Kurdish dilemma

Russia seeks to place its Kurdish policies in the broader context of a changing Middle East.

A man stands near a burning motorbike at the site of a car bomb attack at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey, in Idlib January 20, 2014. Two car bombs hit a rebel-held border post in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib on Monday, opposition activists and fighters said, killing at least 10 people and closing the frontier. The Bab al-Hawa crossing is held by a rebel alliance called the Islamic Front, which have been fighting with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levan

Turkey deals with terrorist blowback on Syria

Turkey may be resetting its regional policies in response to popular discontent and the threat from terrorist groups operating in Syria.

Men react as others rush at the site of a car bomb attack at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey, in Idlib January 20, 2014. Two car bombs hit a rebel-held border post in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib on Monday, opposition activists and fighters said, killing at least 10 people and closing the frontier. The Bab al-Hawa crossing is held by a rebel alliance called the Islamic Front, which have been fighting with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a s

Turkey under pressure over jihadists on border

The recent terrorist bombing at the border and the acrimonious exchange between the Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers at Geneva II hints at the extent to which Turkey has become embroiled in the Syria conflict.

Amr Moussa, head of the assembly writing Egypt's new constitution, attends a vote at the Shura Council in Cairo December 1, 2013. The 50-member assembly voted on Sunday against an article requiring parliamentary elections to be held before presidential elections, raising uncertainty about the country's political transition timetable. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15ZUN

Moussa: Sisi will assume presidency in 'democratic way'

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, veteran Egyptian politician Amr Moussa says he supports Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi running for president and predicts that the Geneva II talks will not lead to a solution in Syria.

Turkish riot police stand guard at the Oncupinar border crossing to stop demonstrators in the Turkish-Syrian border town of Kilis, Gaziantep province, January 12, 2012. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2W6OR

Turkey seals border against al-Qaeda

Turkey has closed its gates after al-Qaeda captured three border crossings into northern Syria, with potential implications for armed groups operating in Syria.

Iraqi volunteers take part in a parade in Karbala, 110 km (68 miles) south of Baghdad, January 11, 2014. About 2,000 fighters volunteered from the provinces of central and south of Iraq to support tribal fighters and Iraqi security forces fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) at the desert in Anbar province. REUTERS/Mushtaq Muhammed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX179JO

Iraqi army declares its control of Khalidiya

The Iraqi army declared that it has gained control of the Jazira area of Khalidiya, but maintaining that control will be a challenge.