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Syria

October 19, 2026

Damascus 9:52 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

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry address the media before a meeting in Vienna, Austria, November 14, 2015. World and regional powers, including officials from Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Europe are meeting in Vienna on Saturday in a bid to step up diplomatic efforts to end the four-year old conflict in Syria. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS6Z3L

Elusive US-Russia deal on Syria may again prove out of reach

US Secretary of State John Kerry had been expected to travel to Geneva to try to finalize a deal with Russia for a nationwide cease-fire in Syria this week, but hopes for concluding the accord appear once again to have been lowered.

Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) stand inside a building near Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo - RTX2HMHI

US backing ensures Arab-Kurd alliance in Syria will survive

Liwa al-Tahrir walking out of its alliance with the Kurdish People's Protection Units caused plenty of excitement in Turkey, but did it really change anything in Syria?

Military vehicles of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are seen on the southeast of Mosul , Iraq, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2KS2U

What is Turkish army really doing in Iraq?

It is not clear who will take control if Mosul is liberated from the Islamic State, but Turkey and its allies want nothing more than to prevent the Kurds from declaring a semi-autonomous state in the region.

A member of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), seen with a mural of the Islamic State in the background, stands guard in front of a building in the border town of Jarablus, Syria, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2NQ4X

Will Turkey be dragged deeper into Syria?

US military support for Kurdish forces pulled Turkey into Syria, but the IS factor will now determine whether or not Turkey gets bogged down.

Member from Hashid Shaabi hold a banner of Abdulmalik al-Huthi during a demonstration to show support for Yemen's Shi'ite Houthis and in protest of an air campaign in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, in Baghdad March 31, 2015. Saudi troops clashed with Yemeni Houthi fighters on Tuesday in the heaviest exchange of cross-border fire since the start of a Saudi-led air offensive last week, while Yemen's foreign minister called for a rapid Arab intervention on the ground. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTR4VNMI

Shiite alliance against Saudis grows tighter

As the sectarian conflict intensifies, Shiite forces expand their cooperation against Saudi Arabia while Iraq plays a key role in this regard.

A view shows collapsed buildings after what activists said was a U.S.-led air strike on Harem city in Idlib countryside November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4DB3M

Internally displaced Syrians find shelter, but few friends, in Latakia

Internally displaced Syrians share their journey from Idlib province, where they suffered under the opposition's siege, to Latakia, where they found refuge but also hostility.

A supporter of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan steps on a photo of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen during a pro-government demonstration on Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTSILD2

Turkey expands assault on independent media

The Erdogan government’s crackdown on "enemy within" includes free press; Iran and Russia may gain from strains in US-Turkey ties; Aleppo key to "undivided Syria"; Iran likely to deepen ties with Russia over Syria.

A journalist stands at the remains of the Temple of Bel in the historic city of Palmyra, in Homs Governorate, Syria April 1, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki SEARCH "PALMYRA SANADIKI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES - RTSD71B

Syria's Tourism Ministry hopes to lure visitors, despite war

Domestic tourism failed to compensate for the major losses incurred by Syria’s tourism sector as a result of the war.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carry their weapons as they take positions in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 20, 2016. Picture taken August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2MEE9

What Turkey stands to lose in its hunt for Syrian Kurds

Turkey may face an unexpected backlash within its borders from its goal of undermining the gains of the Kurds in Syria by launching an operation in Jarablus.

JARABLUS, SYRIA - AUGUST 31: A member of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) gestures as he patrols in the border town of Jarablus, August 31, 2016, Syria. Turkish troops and Turkey-backed rebels have been fighting Kurdish-led forces and IS since Turkey's incursion into Syria on Aug. 24. with the swift capture of Jarablus, a town a few km inside Syria that was held by Islamic State.(Photo by Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images)

Is Turkey falling into its own Syrian trap?

Kurds may be avoiding combat with Turkey, Syria's reaction could be restrained and the Islamic State might have withdrawn without a fight, but Ankara could still get stuck in a quagmire.

A general view shows government-controlled areas of Aleppo as seen from rebel-held part of the city, Syria August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTX2MKAQ

Syria's fate suspended in endless battle for Aleppo

The outcome of the battle for Aleppo will be far-reaching, affecting negotiations in Geneva on a truce and the players in a wider deal on the future of Syria, which is why endless resources are keeping the fire raging.

TOPSHOT - This picture taken around 5 kilometres west from the Turkish Syrian border city of Karkamis in the southern region of Gaziantep, on August 25, 2016 shows Turkish Army tanks driving to the Syrian Turkish border town of Jarabulus.
Turkey's army backed by international coalition air strikes launched an operation involving fighter jets and elite ground troops to drive Islamic State jihadists out of a key Syrian border town. The air and ground operation, the most ambitious launched by Turkey in the Syr

Truce brings quiet, but not stability, to Turkey-Syria border

Despite the current truce, the border between Turkey and northern Syria is still riddled with unrest.