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May 7, 2026

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

Amjad Youssef appeared on video, allegedly killing dozens of civilians in 2013; he is the latest member of the Assad regime to be captured by the new Syrian government.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

The visit comes in light of the deepening economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia post-Assad.

Latest News

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

Sharaa distances Syria from Iran war, says Israel talks ongoing: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish Presient Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

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

Israeli soldiers are seen next to a sign post pointing to the village of Ghajar near Israel's border with Lebanon January 28, 2015. A Hezbollah missile strike wounded four Israeli soldiers on Wednesday, the biggest attack on Israeli forces by the Lebanese guerrilla group since a 34-day war in 2006. Israeli artillery fired at least 22 shells into open farmland in southern Lebanon after the strike, a Lebanese security source said, and thick smoke rose over the area. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY

Disputed Alawite village caught between Israel, Hezbollah

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Bilal Khatib of the Ghajar municipal council explains the unique situation of the village; located on the Israel-Lebanon-Syria border and residents' fear of being targeted.

Smoke from Israeli shelling covers the Lebanese town of Al-Majidiyah (L) on the Lebanese border with Israel as the town of Al-Ghajar is seen on the right on January 28, 2015. Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack against a military convoy in an Israeli-occupied border area. AFP PHOTO / ALI DIA (Photo credit should read ALI DIA/AFP/Getty Images)

Hezbollah's tactical shift against Israel

Hezbollah is opening another front against Israel in the Golan Heights, where it can blame other organizations for possible escalations.

Red Crescent members and residents remove a dead body from a damaged site after what activists said were air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma eastern Al-Ghouta, near Damascus January 25, 2015. Islamist fighters struck the Syrian capital with at least 38 rockets on Sunday, killing seven people, a monitoring group said, in one of heaviest attacks on Damascus in over a year. State media confirmed the attack and said at least four people were killed. It said the army was ret

Rockets fall on Damascus

Jaish al-Islam began a wide-scale rocket attack on Damascus in response to the Syrian regime’s shelling of eastern Ghouta, which allegedly killed civilians.

U.N. peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol in Kfar Kila village in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel, January 28, 2015. Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel that has raised the threat of a full-blown conflict between the militant Islamist group and Israel. REUTERS/Aziz Taher (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4NCBP

Israel shows restraint in Hezbollah retaliation

Hezbollah’s attack on an Israeli patrol in Lebanon’s occupied Shebaa Farms was expected to break into an all-out war on Lebanon, but sources told Al-Monitor that Israel was asked not to engage in such a war.

People gather to celebrate in the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, after Kurdish forces said they took full control of the Syrian town of Kobani, January 27, 2015. Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a monitoring group said, a day after Kurds said they took full control of the northern Syrian town following a four-month battle. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4N6SW

Kurdish victory in Kobani defeat for Turkish policy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressly ruled out the northern Iraq model for Syria's Kurds.

Lebanese soldiers gesture while riding on an armoured vehicle as they leave the mountainous border town of Ras Baalbek January 24, 2015. The Lebanese army said on Saturday three more soldiers were killed in fighting on Friday between troops and militants who attacked an army post near the border with Syria. The army said on Friday it lost five soldiers in an attack near the village of Ras Baalbek in an area that has seen regular incursions by Islamist militants fighting in Syria. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (LE

Lebanese army faces war of attrition

The Lebanese army waits for the authorities to take decisive action and cooperate with Hezbollah and the Syrian regime to fight radical groups in Lebanon.

Children warm themselves next to an open fire beside fuel barrels, engine oil and accessories displayed for sale in Aleppo January 13, 2015. Residents of Kafr Hamra, a town in the rural Aleppo countryside, refine crude oil in makeshift cottage refineries in warehouses and backyards for heating, operating bakeries and even running cars, just like most locals across rebel-held areas of Syria. The state no longer pumps gasoline to areas in rebel hands, and civilians have resorted to buying crude oil from armed

Aleppo residents tested by snowstorm, war

The snowstorm that blanketed the Middle East added to the misery of Aleppo’s residents and refugees, as children died from a lack of power, water and heating.

Could Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Syria spark Iran nuclear talks?

The latest Israel-Hezbollah confrontation might be a catalyst for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran; Iran can ease Saudi Arabia’s security predicament; Netanyahu sees electoral gain in snubbing Obama.

A Lebanese army soldier holds his weapon after being deployed to tighten security, following clashes between Lebanese soldiers and Islamist gunmen in Tripoli, northern Lebanon October 27, 2014. Guns fell silent in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Monday after two days of deadly battles between the army and Islamist gunmen, some of the worst fighting to spill over into Lebanon from Syria's civil war next door. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4BR7A

Islamic State lists conditions to free Lebanese soldiers

An anonymous Lebanese government source informed Al-Monitor that negotiations between Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra militants and the Lebanese government are reaping results, though with conditions.

A picture shows an Israeli army UAV landing in an airfield, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on January 20, 2015, two days after an Israeli air strike killed six Hezbollah members in the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights. The strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed on January 19, as thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah gathered to bury one of the six fighters killed in the same raid. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Image

Why Israel's Hezbollah strike didn't bother Turkey's Islamists

The latest Israeli attack on Hezbollah reveals Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s anti-Assad stance is stronger than his anti-Israel rhetoric.

The Alawite neighbourhood of Jabal Mohsen is seen through a bullet hole in the window of an apartment in the Sunni Mankoubin district in Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli on August 25, 2012, following clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the city, stoking fears of a spillover of bloodshed. AFP PHOTO / ANWAR AMRO (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images)

Poor Tripoli district becomes hotbed for extremists

Mankoubin is one of the impoverished neighborhoods of Tripoli, producing youths who have joined such extremist groups as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State and have carried out attacks in Syria and Iraq, as well as in Lebanon.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) members organise a funeral for members who died during recent clashes with forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in al-Hasakah, activists said May 23, 2014. Picture taken May 23, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3QNP1

After Kobani, where is Islamic State's next target?

The besieged strategic Kurdish town of Hasakah, swollen by an influx of refugees and barrel-bombed by Syrian regime forces, is coming under fire from the Islamic State.