Syria - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

October 21, 2026

Damascus 5:18 am

20°C

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

An exhausted Syrian refugee is seen moments after arriving by a raft at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos October 25, 2015. According to United Nations over half a million refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in Greece this year and the rate of arrivals is rising, in a rush to beat the onset of freezing winter. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis - RTX1T45I

Will there ever be a solution to the refugee crisis?

Responses to the migration crisis are becoming increasingly diverse as governments turn a blind eye to the Syrian refugee and other crises.

Iraqi security forces hold an Islamist State flag which they pulled down at the University of Anbar, in Anbar province July 26, 2015. Iraqi security forces entered the University of Anbar in the western city of Ramadi on Sunday and clashed with Islamic State militants inside the compound, the joint operations command said in a statement. REUTERS/Stringer - RTX1LW6L

Is Russian intervention in Syria pushing 'moderate jihadis' toward Islamic State?

Russia's attacks on "moderate jihadi" groups appears to be pushing them to consider the possibility of uniting under the umbrella of the Islamic State.

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu (L), U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L), Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (3rd L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pose during a photo opportunity before a meeting in Vienna, October 23, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RTS5SVT

No breakthrough in Syria possible without Iran

Russian foreign minister dismisses rumors of a deal on Assad ahead of Syria talks; Hezbollah takes casualties in Hama; Turkey’s headache over US support for Syrian Kurds; days of rage in Gaza.

Senate to grill Kerry on Russian war in Syria

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Oct. 26.

Clinton questions Jordan’s stability, provoking ire in Amman

Hillary Clinton’s remarks that peace between Israelis and Palestinians depends on the stability of Jordan and the future developments in Syria sparked anger and concern among Jordanians.

Unraveling Islamic State’s Turkish recruitment scheme

The recent Ankara bombing is being blamed on a suicide bomber unit of the Islamic State, known as Dokumacilar, recruited from Turkey’s southeastern province of Adiyaman.

Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by the forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Old Aleppo's Kadi Askar area, Syria, August 1, 2015. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTX1MOEZ

What the Aleppo offensive hides

The battle for Aleppo may be a long and costly battle for Syrian regime forces due to the size of the city, the remaining large civil population and the multitude of players.

Could Egypt be key to political solution in Syria?

The Russian air operation in Syria, the US suspension of its training program for new Syrian rebels and its rapprochement with Iran call for an Egyptian mediation to end the war in Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu talks during an interview with Reuters in Istanbul, Turkey, October 14, 2015. Davutoglu told Reuters on Wednesday some of the suspects in a suicide bombing that killed 97 people in Ankara had spent months in Syria and that they could be linked to Islamic State or to Kurdish militants. "We are working on (investigating) two terrorist organisations, Daesh (Islamic State) and PKK, because we have certain evidence regarding the suicide bombers having links with Daesh, but

Would you like your terror straight up or as a cocktail?

Turkey's Justice and Development Party hopes to boost its image by casting aspersions and creating terror conspiracies.

How Turkey is planning for Assad-led transition in Syria

Ankara, still blurry, now agrees to name Bashar al-Assad ‘honorary president’ for six months.

Tajammu Al-Ezza brigade fighters on an anti-aircraft weapon inspect the sky for helicopters loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad located in Hama countryside May 6, 2015. Picture taken May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Bayoush
- RTX1BX2T

How the Syrian regime forces are attacking opposition under Russian cover

It seems the Syrian regime forces are trying to undermine the opposition’s presence on the Syrian coast, as they attacked the Free Syrian Army’s strongholds under a Russian air cover.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (L) talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 21, 2015. Moscow and Baghdad are expanding military cooperation, Putin said on Thursday during talks with al-Abadi in the Kremlin. REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool - RTX1DYWB

Can Iraq meet US, Russia halfway?

As political forces have called for Russia to intervene in Iraq, as it has in Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has been cautious about what steps to take regarding Russia and the United States.