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October 9, 2026

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

Analysis

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

Syria insists it will not send troops to fight the Houthis alongside Saudi Arabia, but its economic dependence on Riyadh could complicate Damascus’ resistance to the idea.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Youths play the daf, an Iranian frame drum, during a protest demanding the right to education in the Kurdish language in Al-Qamishli, Syria, on September 22, 2026. The demonstrations follow a decision by the Syrian Interim Government to allocate only Kurdish language classes in schools. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Syria's Kurds, Arabs find common cause in battle for language rights

As Kurdish students protest language restrictions, unexpected alliances are emerging between Syria’s Kurds and Arabs.

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

Syria’s Sharaa in Riyadh as Saudi airports come under Houthi attacks: What to know

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Riyadh as the Houthis escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia and warned international airlines against using Saudi airspace.

Latest News

UAE-Syria move ahead on $20 billion real estate mega-developments

A view of a traffic roundabout in central Latakia, Syria on June 12, 2025. The city's road network converges near the coast, forming one of the busiest urban intersections in the province. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria denies meeting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Turkey: What to know

Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know

A picture taken on May 1, 2019 shows a railroad of Mar Mikhael neighborhood in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

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

Can Turkey fit into the Biden administration’s Syria policy?

The gnarliest problem: Pentagon report says Syrian, Iranian proxies are "most significant" threats to US mission, but the Islamic State isn’t dead yet, and Turkey and the United States still disagree on the Kurds.

TOPSHOT - An Israeli flag is seen placed on Mount Bental in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on May 10, 2018. - Israel's army said today it had carried out widespread raids against Iranian targets in Syria overnight after rocket fire towards its forces it blamed on Iran, marking a sharp escalation between the two enemies. Israel carried out the raids after it said around 20 rockets, either Fajr or Grad type, were fired from Syria at its forces in the occupied Golan Heights at around midnight. (Photo by JAL

Israeli woman who entered Syria flown home

The Israeli government is withholding some details about the Russia-mediated deal that also involved two Syrians being released from Israeli prison.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu following their talks on Syria in Astana on March 16, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Alexey FILIPPOV (Photo credit should read ALEXEY FILIPPOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Does ‘Syrian trio’ of Russia, Iran and Turkey have a future?

There are signs that the Astana talks on the Syrian war — which began in 2017 and are sponsored by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran — have little prospect of making progress going forward.

People walk among tents at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp which holds suspected relatives of Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in the northeastern Syrian Hasakeh governorate, on February 17, 2021. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Killings on the rise in Syria's al-Hol camp

There were far more deaths than usual in the camp for Islamic State families in January amid calls from the United Nations and Kurdish forces for countries to take back their citizens.

TOPSHOT - A woman cries as she looks at her house in Raqa on October 20, 2017, after a Kurdish-led force expelled the Islamic State group from the northern Syrian city.
For three years, Raqa saw some of IS's worst abuses and grew into one of its main governance hubs, a centre for both its potent propaganda machine and its unprecedented experiment in jihadist statehood.
/ AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Islamic State continues to terrorize Raqqa

Despite losing its last stronghold in eastern Syria in 2019 and the presence of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the Islamic State continues to threaten the lives of citizens in Raqqa.

US citizen Bilal Abdul Kareem released from prison by HTS in Syria

The American activist and self-styled journalist spent six months in the jihadist group's notorious prison system.

Snow covers parts of the Middle East as winter storm rages on

Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan have all received several centimeters of snow.

This picture taken from the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on February 15, 2021, shows the border fence with the Syrian governorate of Quneitra (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel in quiet talks with Syria on prisoner swap

Israel is reportedly negotiating with Syria on the release of a woman who mistakenly crossed the border in exchange for the release of two Golan residents imprisoned in Israel.

A handout picture taken on February 15, 2021 shows a 26-year-old woman (R), who had held New Zealand and Australian citizenships, and her two children escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers after trying to enter Turkey illegally from Syria at Reyhanli district in Hatay. - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern angrily accused Australia on February 16, 2021 of shirking its responsibility for a dual national arrested in Turkey with alleged links to the Islamic State militant group. The 40-year-o

New Zealand slams Australia for revoking citizenship of IS associate

Turkish authorities detained a woman with dual Australia-New Zealand citizenship allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State.

Smoke billows following reported shelling by government forces on the northwestern Syrian town of Barah, in the rebel held Idlib province on February 12, 2021. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Is HTS reining in or expanding jihadist network in Idlib?

Ansar al-Tawhid recently attacked a Russian operations room in the south of Idlib governate, killing and injuring several soldiers on the site, raising questions about the group’s identity and affiliations.

Damascus scrambles for more control in southern Syria

As the Russian-brokered Tafas agreement in the western countryside of Daraa between the Syrian regime and the Central Committee enters into force, the regime is now seeking to take over the towns outside its control in southern Syria before the upcoming 2021 presidential elections.

Pentagon ‘comfortable’ with troop levels in Middle East ahead of review

Whether the United States pulls forces from the Middle East to counter China may well depend on the success of Biden's diplomacy with Iran