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Syria

October 24, 2026

Damascus 4:55 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

Israeli soldiers ride an army jeep during a patrol along Israel's border with Lebanon near the northern village of Avivim July 3, 2013. Israel is bolstering its forces on the once-quiet frontier with Syria where it believes Lebanese Hezbollah militants are preparing for the day when they could fight Israel. Picture taken July 3, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX11IMI

Al-Qaeda now frontline threat to Israel

With gains in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, al-Qaeda and its affiliates threaten Israel more than ever.

Syrian foreign minister calls for national unity government

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Walid Moallem, Syria's minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, said that the Syrian National Coalition's rejection of a resolution condemning terrorism was "unfortunate and strange."

A man carrying a wounded woman runs from the site of explosions near the Iranian embassy in Beirut November 19, 2013. Two explosions targeting the Iranian embassy hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday killing at least 23 people, including Iranian cultural attache Ebrahim Ansari, and damaging buildings around the embassy compound, Lebanese sources said. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisy (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS DISASTER) - RTX15JSM

Are UN Security Council anti-al-Qaeda terror statutes properly enforced?

The UN Security Council has established a regime for a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo against the al-Qaeda network since 1999, but new circumstances bring about serious doubts if such a regime is still functioning.

Palestinian students gather in the campus of Al-Aqsa University in Gaza City on February 21, 2013. The university has denied reports that it has decided to impose a "strict" Islamic dress code on female students. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinian refugees from Syria struggle to attend Gaza's universities

Palestinian university students who fled the violence in Syria are facing many difficulties in the Gaza Strip, as the authorities have backtracked on promises to exempt them from fees.

Women walk past as Lebanese army soldiers, gather at the site of Tuesday's explosion, in the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut January 22, 2014. A suicide bomber killed four people on Tuesday in a residential neighbourhood of southern Beirut known for its support of Shi'ite military and political group Hezbollah, security sources said. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17PH5

Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs live in fear of attacks

Following a string of attacks by extremist groups targeting the mostly pro-Hezbollah southern suburbs of Beirut, locals in this area carry on with their lives, although with tightened security measures.

Palestinian workers build houses for Jewish settlers in the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim July 26. Building on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, Israeli Radio said on Sunday. - RTXI53F

Settlement mayor: Renouncing Jordan Valley will destroy Likud

Ma'ale Adumim settlement Mayor Benny Kasriel says, ''Anyone who'll concede the Jordan Valley will find himself out of the Likud Party.''

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara January 28, 2014. Erdogan, keen to maintain economic growth ahead of an election cycle starting in two months, has been a vociferous opponent of the higher borrowing costs sometimes needed to bolster currencies, railing against what he describes as an 'interest rate lobby' of speculators seeking to stifle growth and undermine the economy. REUTERS/Umit Bek

Erdogan visit to Iran to address Syria, economic ties

The visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tehran will offer an opportunity to defuse tensions on Syria while expanding economic relations.

Pope Francis waves before releasing doves during the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican January 26, 2014.
REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX17V3O

Pope's statement in Davos a rare moment of hope

Pope Francis' statement read at Davos was a counterbalance to political unrest and economic uncertainty around the world.

U.N. special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi speaks to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (R) during a news conference after the Geneva-2 peace talks in Montreux January 22, 2014. An international conference on Syria ended on Wednesday, with Ban calling on both Syrian delegations to work sincerely for a solution to the nearly three-year-old conflict. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17Q4I

Brahimi saves his energy for Geneva III

The Geneva II conference may not achieve even minor agreements, much less peace.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (C) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani open a ceremonial valve during an event to mark the official start of oil exports from the autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil June 1, 2009. Iraq's Kurdistan region said on Monday it hoped to be producing 1 million barrels per day of oil within the next 2-3 years, despite discord with the Arab-led government in Baghdad over Iraq's oil wealth. REUTERS/Safin Hamed/Pool (IRAQ CONFLICT POLITICS ENERGY BUS

Russia's Kurdish dilemma

Russia seeks to place its Kurdish policies in the broader context of a changing Middle East.

A man stands near a burning motorbike at the site of a car bomb attack at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey, in Idlib January 20, 2014. Two car bombs hit a rebel-held border post in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib on Monday, opposition activists and fighters said, killing at least 10 people and closing the frontier. The Bab al-Hawa crossing is held by a rebel alliance called the Islamic Front, which have been fighting with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levan

Turkey deals with terrorist blowback on Syria

Turkey may be resetting its regional policies in response to popular discontent and the threat from terrorist groups operating in Syria.

Men react as others rush at the site of a car bomb attack at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Syria and Turkey, in Idlib January 20, 2014. Two car bombs hit a rebel-held border post in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib on Monday, opposition activists and fighters said, killing at least 10 people and closing the frontier. The Bab al-Hawa crossing is held by a rebel alliance called the Islamic Front, which have been fighting with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a s

Turkey under pressure over jihadists on border

The recent terrorist bombing at the border and the acrimonious exchange between the Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers at Geneva II hints at the extent to which Turkey has become embroiled in the Syria conflict.