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October 16, 2026

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An attendee walks past signage displayed inside the venue for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)

Syria to rejoin Arab group at IMF, leaving Russian-led constituency

Syria will rejoin the Arab constituency at the International Monetary Fund beginning Nov. 1 and has applied for membership in the EBRD.

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Syria and Iraq are taking different approaches to armed groups

Demonstrators ride through a street while waving Syrian flags

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Culture

Syria reopens Aleppo's 1,300-year-old Great Umayyad Mosque after 13 years

A view of the Great Umayyad Mosque during the reopening ceremony, Oct. 8, 2026.

Analysis

Why Syria sending troops to Yemen would be a risky bet for Sharaa

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Oct. 6, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad heads a cabinet meeting in Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on February 12, 2013. REUTERS/SANA/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3DOUK

Syrian Official Claims Regime 'Extremely Comfortable'

While on a personal visit to Beirut, an official from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime said that the regime is “extremely comfortable” with the current political and military situation in Syria and abroad, writes Jean Aziz.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 13: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh shake hands during a joint press conference at the State Department February 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. Kerry and Judeh met privately to discuss efforts in Syria and on the Middle East peace process among other issues. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Kerry Calls for 'Negotiated Outcome' in Syria

Al-Monitor’s coverage and analysis of the upcoming visits by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East, Kerry’s call for a negotiated outcome in Syria and Tunisia’s worsening crisis.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends a foreign ministers meeting ahead of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Cairo February 4, 2013. The OIC summit will be held from February 6-7. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DCET

Turkey's Syria Predicament

Cengiz Candar writes that Turkey cannot escape the consequences of the civil war in Syria.

A picture of Hessam Khoshnevis is placed at the condolences hall at the Iranian Embassy at Beirut February 14, 2013. Khoshnevis, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander, has been killed inside Syria by rebels battling Iran's close ally President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian officials and a rebel leader said on Thursday. Syrian rebels have repeatedly accused Tehran of sending fighters to help Assad crush the 22-month-old uprising, a charge Iran has denied. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UN

Assassination Will Not Weaken Iran’s Support for Assad

Meir Javedanfar speculates that the assassination of a senior member of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC) will not sink Iran’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A couple are seen walking at Zaytouna Bay in Beirut October 25, 2012. The party capital of the Arab world, Beirut is a freewheeling city where Gulf Arabs, expatriates and Lebanese emigres fly in to enjoy its luxury hotels. But under the veneer of modernity lie sectarian demons coiled to strike. The car-bomb assassination last Friday of intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan - an attack almost universally blamed on Syria and its local allies - brought the merry-go-round to a juddering halt. Gunmen and protester

Syria's Wealthy Refugees Wait Out War in Beirut

Many affluent Syrians who have escaped the violence sweeping their country have temporarily settled in Beirut, given its proximity to Syria and opulent lifestyle, writes Elie Hajj.

An Israeli soldier looks on as a United Nations jeep drives past the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Golan Heights, on the Israeli side of the 1973 ceasefire line with Syria January 31, 2013. Israeli forces attacked a convoy on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, a Western diplomat and regional security sources said on Wednesday, as concern has grown in the Jewish state over the fate of Syrian chemical and advanced conventional weapons. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

The Strategic Bargain Of Israel-Hezbollah Deterrence

Israel’s strike against the Syrian convoy on Jan. 30 was not to escalate the conflict with Damascus, but to contain it, while maintaining deterrence between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, writes Jean-Loup Samaan.

Men drink tea and smoke water pipe at a cafe in the old city of Damascus November 8, 2012. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR3A600

Life Continues in Damascus Despite Surrounding Conflict

As the Syrian conflict nears its third year, Damascus remains largely detached from its rural surroundings, writes Nasser Chararah.

Damaged cars are seen after an explosion at Cilvegozu border gate near the town of Reyhanli on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province February 11, 2013, in this picture taken by Ihlas News Agency. A car exploded at a crossing on Turkey's border with Syria near the Turkish town of Reyhanli on Monday, killing at least nine people including Turkish citizens and wounding dozens more, officials said. REUTERS/Ihlas News Agency (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED

Car Bomb at Syrian Border Kills 13

Tulin Daloglu reports on the latest car bombing on the Syria-Turkey border, which killed 13 people, just 10 days after the US Embassy in Ankara was attacked by a suicide bomber.

The Campaign to Save New York's 'Little Syria'

Todd Fine outlines the campaign to save what's left of the historic "Little Syria" neighborhood on Washington Street in New York City.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) shake hands after the president announced Kerry's nomination as Secretary of State to succeed Hillary Clinton, at the White House in Washington December 21, 2012. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3BTVQ

Week in Review: US Resets Diplomacy in Middle East

Al-Monitor’s coverage and analysis of a newly assertive US diplomacy toward the peace process, Iran and Syria.

Major-General Amos Yadlin, Israel's chief of military intelligence, speaks at the annual Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv December 15, 2009. Israel is parlaying civilian technological advances into a cyberwarfare capability against its enemies, Yadlin, a senior Israeli general, said on Tuesday in a rare public disclosure about the secret programme. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS SCI TECH) - RTXRVGO

Former Aman Chief Offers Realism on Threats to Israel

Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has discounted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scare tactics and argues that in terms of conventional threats, Israel’s situation has never been better, reports Ben Caspit.

U.S. President Barack Obama calls on Congress to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the larger, automatic "sequester" cuts from going into effect during an announcement in the White House briefing room in Washington February 5, 2013. Huge cuts to defense and domestic programs are slated to go into effect in roughly three weeks, a threat that has caused uncertainty and negatively affected economic growth, a White House official said. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATE

Obama's Post-Election Pivot on Syria

Geoffrey Aronson describes the implications of President Barack Obama applying the "Congo Standard" for intervention in Syria.