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Syria

October 21, 2026

Damascus 1:31 am

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Trucks loaded with goods wait to cross over to Syria

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is reshaping economic ties between Iraq and Syria

Iraq and Syria are expanding trade and energy cooperation, but security risks, economic challenges and longstanding mistrust raise questions about whether their growing partnership can endure.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Israeli troops stand guard on the dividing line between the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Syrian, near Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025.

Analysis

'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma

The Israeli leader revealed that he spoke with the Syrian president last year, but stalled talks and Israel's fortification of a security zone on Syrian land underscore his mistrust of Sharaa.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

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.

Latest News

Explainer

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

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

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

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.

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

Israeli kids play next to an Israeli flag next to the Israeli Syrian border at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israel July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC179A5708F0

Intel: Why the US is warming to Israel’s hold on the Golan Heights

Syria's political prisoners share stories of abuse on Beirut stage

A play by former political prisoners in Syria is showing audiences the devastating reality of abuse in Middle Eastern jails while offering a kind of therapy for those effected.

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu (R) stands next to his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman as as they look at pictures of Jews killed in the Holocaust during a visit to the Hall of Names at Yad Vashem's Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1504C794D0

Will Israeli defense minister's exit impact Russia-Israel cooperation on Syria?

The resignation of Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has triggered discussion in Russian circles about whether the departure of a man deemed a staunch advocate for a "special relationship" with Moscow will affect Benjamin Netanyahu's cooperation with Vladimir Putin on Syria.

Demonstrators march carrying flags to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in Damascus, Syria April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - GF10000392605

Why Syrian Armenians are avoiding Turkey

While most Syrian ethnic groups, including Kurds, Turkmens, and Syriac Christians, seek refuge in Turkey, Syrian Armenians do not.

U.S. troops are seen during a patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1C4759D040

Turkey 'won’t be duped' by US in Syria

Washington’s decision to place a bounty on the heads of the PKK leadership has been met with suspicion and derision in Ankara.

A Turkish flag flutters on a military vehicle on the border of Manbij city, Syria November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1DD5250CE0

Turkey's trigger finger grows itchy over US-Kurd relations

Turkey is probing ways to penetrate Kurd-controlled areas east of the Euphrates River, but the United States doesn’t seem ready to give up its relationship with the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin leaves after a lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of the commemoration ceremony for Armistice Day, 100 years after the end of the First World War, France, November 11, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1EC88496F0

Putin, Netanyahu struggle to mend ties in Paris

Despite the brief meeting on the margins of the Paris Peace Forum, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu seem to have failed to fully mend bilateral ties damaged over the downed Russian spy plane.

Crossing between opposing forces opens near Idlib, Syria

Despite sporadic fighting, a crossing between forces of the Syrian regime and its opposition has reopened in Morek.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate the first anniversary of Raqqa province liberation from ISIS, in Raqqa, Syria Ocotber 27, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1C0393FB70

Intel: How the return of the Kurds changes the Syria fight

Russia sends its own signals on Libya by hosting Hifter

Russia's military embraces Khalifa Hifter ahead of intra-Libyan talks in Palermo that kick off today, but does it signal a shift in Moscow's attitude toward the Libyan crisis?

United Arab Emirates

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands at a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC16134E6CB0

Putin pivots to Europe for next play on Syria

Russian president intensifies diplomatic push; Erdogan goes "big" to leverage the Khashoggi murder with the Trump administration; Oman emerges as Israeli-Palestinian broker.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a bilateral meeting during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1720F3A620

Israel pins hopes on American sanctions against Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman pin their hopes on the American sanctions against Iran to destabilize the Tehran regime and force it to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.