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Syria

October 18, 2026

Damascus 3:30 pm

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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

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Nemenov/Pool - RTSXBNR

Jordan eyes center stage in Russia’s anti-terrorism policy

Jordan's King Abdullah, who visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week and is in Washington this week, could become a key intermediary between Russia and the Trump administration.

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura (C) shakes hands with Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov (L) as Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaber Ansari stands beside during the announcement of a final statement following Syria peace talks in Astana on January 24, 2017. / AFP / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV (Photo credit should read KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images)

Why are Syrian rebels stepping up efforts to isolate Iran?

The Syrian rebels’ rejection of Iran as a guarantor of the cease-fire in Syria is about much more than simple anti-Iranian sentiment among Sunni militants.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media after his meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSXRXX

Turkey squeezed between Russia, US in Syria

US President Donald Trump’s safe zones idea and Russia’s draft constitution get cold reactions from Ankara.

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016. Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2YZB7

Former US envoy: Syria may be central to Trump-Netanyahu meeting

US President Donald Trump has hinted at creating safe zones in Syria in a draft executive order and in conversations with the Saudi king, while the former US ambassador to Israel says Syria will likely be a "central topic" in Trump’s upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

People walk past a billboard depicting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Saadallah al-Jabri Square, in the government controlled area of Aleppo, Syria December 17, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX2VGTH

Is Syria any closer to political solution after Astana talks?

It remains unclear whether the Astana talks were a success or a failure, amid intransigence by the Syrian government and the opposition to keep implementing their own agendas.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carries his weapon as he walks at the faculty of economics where a defaced picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in the background, in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MKNT

Does Syria really want to reconcile with Kurds?

The future of Syrian Kurds is uncertain, but they have at least made it obvious that things must change.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at a rocket warhead tip after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, at an unidentified location in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 15, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR A

Netanyahu's road to Iran runs through North Korea

Israel fears that if North Korea continues to develop its nuclear arsenal, Iran will no longer agree to restraints on its nuclear program.

Why did Russia offer autonomy for Syria’s Kurds?

Draft constitution from Russia seeks to decentralize Syrian state authority, limit presidential powers; Turkish forces struggle in two-front campaign against both the Islamic State and Syrian Kurds; Al-Monitor offers in-depth reporting on Syrian Kurdish region.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Syrian opposition representatives in Moscow, Russia January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSXL2Z

Russia offers outline for Syrian constitution

Russia’s three-pronged plan for Syria’s constitution addresses secular and Kurdish concerns, as well as governmental structure, including limits on presidential power.

Syrian Kurdish people rally on Mistanur hill during a gathering to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, on March 21, 2015. AFP PHOTO/YASIN AKGUL (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Hope and fear for Syria's Kurds

In the first of a new series of long-form, in-depth articles, Al-Monitor traveled to the northeastern Syrian town of Derik to explore the transitional and often contradictory nature of the Kurdish-administered territory still commonly called Rojava.

Israeli girls play near a sign at Mount Bental, an observation post in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that overlooks the Syrian side of the Qunietra crossing August 21, 2015. Israel said it killed four Palestinian militants in an air strike on the Syrian Golan Heights on Friday, after cross-border rocket fire from Syria prompted the heaviest Israeli bombardment since the start of Syria's four-year-old civil war. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX1P1OA

What's behind Israel's decision to welcome Syrian orphans?

Right-wing nongovernmental organizations in Israel have launched campaigns in favor of Syrian refugees, calling upon the government to show that Israelis care about their neighbors being massacred daily.

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President Mike Pence (C) attend a ceremonial swearing-in for U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly (L) at Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSXCQV

Turkey holds applause for Trump's safe-zone promise

Turkey would still likely welcome a US-sponsored safe zone in rebel-held areas, but the new US president's pledge to order safe zones did not specify where in Syria they might be established.