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October 28, 2026

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Iraq's Zaidi meets Sharaa on first Syria visit: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has sought to assuage concerns about his past militant activity in Iraq, whose oil trade and security cooperation with his two country is rising.

Mourners attend the funeral of those who were killed in airstrikes carried out by Jordan the night before on the village of Al-Taf in the Al-Lajat region, located in the northeastern countryside of Daraa, on Oct. 27, 2026.

Syria slams Jordan over crossborder strikes, denies coordination: What to know

Jordan said its airstrikes targeted ISIS fighters, while Syria said civilians were killed, sparking outrage.

New female cadets from the new women's police academy attend the first cohort graduation ceremony after completing a six-month training program, in al-Tal on the northern outskirts of Damascus, on Sept. 22, 2026.

Culture

Syrian women easy target in Sharaa’s drive to consolidate power

Syria’s interim president is balancing Western demands for inclusion with pressure from Islamist hard-liners as he seeks to consolidate power and shed his jihadi past.

Latest News

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

How Hormuz crisis is reshaping economic ties between Iraq and Syria

Trucks loaded with goods wait to cross over to Syria

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Analysis

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

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

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

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

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin E. Dempsey (L), John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State (C), and Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense, present the administration's case for U.S. military action against Syria to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, September 3, 2013. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged quick congressional action authorizing the use of military force against Syria and won the support of leaders from both parties in the House of Representatives for limited strik

Obama Administration Should Stop Conflating Syria, Iran

The Obama administration is risking a breakthrough with Iran in its rhetoric on Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) walks from the stage after speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YWDV

The IDF, AIPAC and Syria

Should AIPAC be lobbying for a US strike on Syria?

A fighter from the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra rides a motorcycle along a deserted street in Deir al-Zor August 17, 2013. Picture taken August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX12PKS

Turkey Decides Jabhat Al-Nusra Is a Threat

A Turkish official has said Ankara will not support the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (R) and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attend a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria at the G20 summit in St Petersburg, September 6, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX139AN

'Diplomatic Vitality' Needed to Bring Peace to Syria

While the US public awaits President Barack Obama's speech on Sept. 10, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has publicly criticized a US military attack against Syria, lobbying to continue negotiations during Geneva II.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (BRUNEI - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX119IW

Would Syria Retaliate Against Turkey?

Al-Monitor’s analysis coverage of a possible US military strike on Syria.

A Syrian woman holds a banner for saving Maaloula while Lebanese and Syrian Christian Maronites pray for peace in Syria, in Harisa, Jounieh September 7, 2013. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX13C2S

Syrian Islamist Rebels Threaten Maaloula, Christians

The Aramaic-speaking village of Maaloula, a symbol of religious and sectarian coexistence in Syria, has been invaded and desecrated by Islamist opposition groups.

Demonstrators form a human chain in front of security forces during a peace day rally at Taksim square in central Istanbul September 1, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX133II

Turks Oppose War in Syria

A recent Turkish poll shows that those opposed to a war in Syria grew from 57% to 72% over the past year.

A piece of the wreckage of Turkish F-4 jet which was shot down by Syria and retrieved from the seabed on Thursday, is seen in this undated, picture taken underwater and released by Turkish Chief of Staff July 5, 2012. Turkey's armed forces command said on Thursday it had retrieved the bodies of two pilots of a jet shot down by Syria last month, recovering them from the seabed 8.6 nautical miles from the Syrian coast. REUTERS/Turkey Land Forces Headquarters/Handout (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) FOR EDIT

Was Turkey's F-4 Shot Down Over Syria by a Lawyer?

Only a lawyer has been prosecuted following the shooting down of a Turkish jet over Syrian airspace in June 2012.

Christian clerics hold candles during a candle-lit vigil at the Balamand Monastery in Koura, near the north Lebanese city of Tripoli, to call for the release of bishops kidnapped in northern Syria two months ago, June 22, 2013. Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yazigi led the candle-lit vigil on Saturday for Greek Orthodox archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, appealing to their kidnappers to free them and urging Syrian security forces to do more to win their release. REUTERS/Om

Christians In the Levant Grow Fearful Over US Syria Strike

Christians in Syria and Lebanon congregate to discuss the implications for their community should the United States follow through with its plans to carry out military strikes on Syria.

Syrian opposition demonstrators living in Jordan hold a poster of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally in front of the Turkish embassy in Amman June 26, 2011, in support of Turkey's tough stance against President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2O4DU

Five Lessons From Turkey’s 1998 Standoff With Syria

Revisiting the 1998 confrontation with Syria over Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan could help decision makers in Ankara avoid the pitfalls of intervention.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attends the first working session of the G20 Summit in Constantine Palace in Strelna near St. Petersburg, September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX138DI

Military Strike on Syria May Put Turkey at Risk

Turkey may become the target of Syrian retaliation and face domestic unrest in the case of a US strike on Syria.

Syrian refugees look out from their tent at a refugee camp in al-Qaim, Anbar province, September 8, 2012. Al Qaim, in the Sunni heartland of Anbar province, reflects the tricky balancing act Iraq's Shi'ite leaders face in Syria, whose crisis is testing the Middle East's sectarian divide. Al Qaim and its neighbouring Syrian counterpart Albu Kamal are on a strategic supply route for smugglers, gun-runners and now insurgents aiming to join the rebellion. Picture taken September 8, 2012. To match Feature SYRIA-

Iraq Needs Unity to Deal with Syria Crisis

As foreign military intervention in Syria grows more imminent, the Iraqi authorities would do well to set aside their internal differences and take the necessary precautions should its neighbor’s conflict spill over onto its territory.