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Syria

October 23, 2026

Damascus 10:18 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

A member of Iraqi security forces looks on during the digging operations to build a trench on the northern Iraqi border with Syria to prevent people from crossing over into Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on April 13, 2014 in Zakho. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

KRG trench divides Syrian, Iraqi Kurds

The ditch dug by the Kurdistan Regional Government at Rojava, separating Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, adds another layer of complexity to the regional conflict.

Nuns hold candles during a candle-lit vigil at the Balamand Monastery in Koura, near the north Lebanese city of Tripoli, to call for the release of bishops kidnapped in northern Syria two months ago, June 22, 2013. Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yazigi led the candle-lit vigil on Saturday for Greek Orthodox archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, appealing to their kidnappers to free them and urging Syrian security forces to do more to win their release. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (L

Fate of kidnapped Syrian bishops still unknown

As the one-year anniversary of the kidnapping of Bishops Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi in Aleppo approaches, questions persist regarding their fate and the identity of the kidnappers.

A wounded Islamist rebel fighter carries his weapon during what they said was a takeover of the Furn Al-Ali building that was under control by the Syrian regime in Ramouseh, an area located beside Aleppo Artillery school April 12, 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3L05C

West Aleppo faces unending assault

West Aleppo is suffering intense, continuous bombardment as Islamist rebels sustain their largest offensive yet on regime-held areas.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad are seen in the Qalamoun mountains north of Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on December 27, 2013. Syria's army ambushed Islamist fighters in the Qalamoun mountains north of the capital Damascus on Friday, leaving as many as 60 people dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attack happened between the Christian town of Maaloula and the town of Yabroud, where government forces and rebels are

After Maaloula, Syrian army heads to Zabadani

The Syrian army has taken control of Maaloula, and seems to be on the verge of recovering most of the region linking Damascus to Lebanon.

Syria's graffiti revolution

Syrian graffiti artists seek to reclaim the spirit of the revolution by taking on both the Assad government and radical Islamists.

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) try to calm civilians demonstrating against the rebel infighting in Aleppo January 6, 2014. In the last few days Syrian rebel factions battled fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across northern and eastern Syria. The apparently coordinated strikes against the ISIL come after months of increasing resentment of the powerful al Qaeda-linked group, whose radical foreign jihadis and have alienated many ordinary Syrians in re

European jihadists form ISIS brigades in Syria

Enough European jihadists are fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) that the radical group has created French- and German-speaking brigades.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. Putin said after talks that both sides hoped a "mutually acceptable resolution" could soon be found over Iran's nuclear ambitions. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15M32

Israel-Russia ties strong despite Ukraine

Both Israel and Russia value their growing strategic relationship.

(L-R) U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) chat as they arrive to speak at the Tea Party Patriots 'Exempt America from Obamacare' rally on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13G43

House bill demands tougher line against Hezbollah

Bipartisan legislation introduced Monday in the House Foreign Affairs Committee pushes sanctions against financial institutions and satellite providers that aid Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam after his new government wins a vote of confidence in Beirut March 20, 2014. Lebanon's parliament gave a newly-formed cabinet a vote of confidence on Thursday, ending almost a year of political deadlock during which the country has been pulled further into the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HXY5

Next Lebanese president depends on Tehran, Riyadh

Influential regional players, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, are so far unable to agree on a presidential candidate in Lebanon.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan acknowledges supporters during the municipal elections outside a polling station in Istanbul March 30, 2014. Erdogan looks set to win Sunday's municipal elections that have become a crisis referendum on his 10-year rule as he tries to ward off graft allegations and stem a stream of damaging security leaks. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3J6TG

Erdogan’s victory a warning to West

Despite his party’s win in the municipal elections, the Turkish prime minister’s policies, including toward Syria, are likely to lead to further political polarization and distance from the United States and Europe.

A rebel fighter gestures as he runs across a street in Mleha suburb of Damascus, during what the rebel fighters said was an offensive against them by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3JQRF

Syria's moderate rebels still losing ground to extremists

The ascendance of Islamic groups among Syria's opposition has clouded prospects for more advanced weapons to be provided to moderate factions.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a rally on the 7th anniversary of the end of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel, in Aita al-Shaab village in southern Lebanon, August 16, 2013. Nasrallah renewed his commitment on Friday to the battle in Syria, where the Shi'ite militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was ready to go himself if needed. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST AN

Hezbollah sanctions bill targets central banks

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to unveil a new sanctions bill targeting the Iran-backed militia