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Syria

October 24, 2026

Damascus 12:42 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

Iran's President Hassan Rohani (C) walks next to delegate members after speaking in a High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament during the 68th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX140O5

The Iranian Trend And Geneva Nuclear Talks

Al-Monitor’s coverage of Iran as negotiations commence this week in Geneva with expectations of progress on the nuclear file, and implications for Syria and the region.

Syrian Arab Village Welcomes Kurdish Fighters

Villagers consider arrival of Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) forces a liberation in light of the presence of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director General Ahmet Uzumcu arrives at a news conference in The Hague October 11, 2013. The OPCW, which is overseeing the destruction's of Syria's arsenal, won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday. Set up in 1997 to eliminate all chemicals weapons worldwide, its mission gained critical importance this year after a sarin gas strike in the suburbs of Damascus killed more than 1,400 people in August. REUTERS/Michel Kooren (

UN Body Led by Ahmet Uzumcu Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed deep pride for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, led by a Turk, Ahmet Uzumcu.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd R) during the opening of a ministerial meeting in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 13, 2013. The OIC urged its member states to make generous contributions at this week's main donors conference on Mali to be held in Brussels, which aims to raise funds to repair the damage caused by the war against Islamists in the African country. AFP PHOTO/STR

Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente

The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks with Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14195

Is Iran Changing Its Policies In Syria, Lebanon?

While eyes are on the Oct. 15-16 nuclear talks in Geneva, Iranian policies in Lebanon and Syria may already be showing a more moderate trend under President Hassan Rouhani.

A Free Syrian Army fighter carrying his weapon, walks along a street as Syrian opposition (bottom) and Popular Protection Units (YPG) flags flutter, in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood, June 7, 2013. Kurdish fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) joined the Free Syrian Army fighters to fight against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10USV

Syria’s Kurds Divided Over Geneva II Conference

Syria’s Kurdish parties consider whether to be represented independently or as part of the Syrian National Coalition.

A Syrian Kurd Asaish stands at a security checkpoint at Derik in Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Picture taken October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR39WOM

Syrian Kurdish Leader Urges Turkey To End Support for Salafists

Saleh Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, had messages for Ankara in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

DAVOS, Switzerland: Tel Aviv University President Itamar Rabinovich speaks at the "Breaking the Vicious Circle of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" conference, 25 January 2004 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. AFP PHOTO Eric FEFERBERG (Photo credit should read ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

Rabinovitch Says Israel Benefits From US-Russia Deal on Syria

Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, says Israel benefited from the chemical weapons agreement with Syria, but warns of a weakening US position relative to Russia in the region.

Kurdish security forces inspect the site of a bomb attack in the city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, September 29, 2013. Six people were killed on Sunday in a series of explosions outside a security directorate in the capital of Iraq's usually peaceful autonomous Kurdistan region, security and medical sources said. Gunfire could be heard after the blasts in Arbil that wounded a further 36 people, according to the city's health directorate

Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing Rock Iraqi Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq deals with the implications of its first terrorist attack in six years.

A student studying in Syria carries his luggage as he crosses through the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights July 11, 2013. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said 23 students, mostly from the Druze community, crossed into the Golan Heights from Syria at Quneitra on Thursday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTX11JTW

Golan Heights Students Return To Syria Despite War

Despite the war in Syria, some students from the Golan Heights are still crossing back into Syria to continue their university studies.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Cctober 8, 2013 during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara. Turkey lifted on October 8 a ban on women wearing the Islamic head scarf in state institutions, ending a decades-old restriction as part of a package of reforms instigated by Erdogan. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan's Frustration Shows Over Syria Deal

The Turkish prime minister is questioning John Kerry's praise of Syria’s compliance to date with UN Security Council Resolution 2118.

A man works at a makeshift oil refinery site in al-Mansoura village in Raqqa's countryside May 5, 2013. Many civilians in the village who lost their jobs due to the Syrian conflict are making a living by refining crude oil to extract useful fuel such as gasoline and kerosene for sale. Picture taken May 5, 2013. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT ENERGY BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) - RTXZIAB

Natural Gas Resources May Be Backstory in Syria War

The Syria war, like many of the region's other conflicts, has an important oil and gas angle.