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Syria

October 24, 2026

Damascus 1:09 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

Syria's Sufi Tahleela Band performs during the third annual Sufi Festival at the Royal Cultural Center in Amman October 12, 2010. Arab and international Sufi groups are taking part in the one week event. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY) - RTXTCZH

Syrian Sufis Divided As Salafist Influence Grows

Sufism has long been the dominant strand of Sunni Islam in Syria, but is under threat as Salafism gains power.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media after a meeting of the foreign ministers representing the permanent five member countries of the United Nations Security Council, including Germany, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York September 26, 2013. U.S. and Iranian officials emerged upbeat on Thursday from a meeting on Iran's nuclear program but both sides also sounded a cautionary note, with the United States saying there was more work to do and Iran insisting on quick sanctions relie

Iran’s Foreign Minister Offers Help With Syria’s Chemical Weapons

Iran is ready to participate in the Geneva II process in Syria, but only if asked, says Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

Nader, a 20-year-old fighter of the first batch of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, stands beside other grooms during his wedding ceremony in Aleppo's countryside city of Al-Bab March 15, 2013. A mass wedding took place for fourteen members of the first batch of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, in Al-Bab. Picture taken March 15, 2013. REUTERS/Giath Taha (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR3F2PX

Rift Between Syrian National Coalition And Islamist Rebels Deepens

The signs were obvious that an open rift between the Syrian National Coalition and the main Islamist rebel factions was imminent.

Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Syrian Opposition Coalition Chairman Ahmed Assi al-Jarba during the United Nations General Assembly at the Waldorf Astoria in New York September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13YF3

UN Resolution Opens New Chapter in Syria Conflict

A UN Security Council resolution has recast the Syria conflict as a matter for international diplomacy, not US unilateral action.

Ammunition is seen at an area controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at the front line during clashes with opposition fighters during a guided tour by the Syrian Army in the Damascus suburb of Jobar, August 24, 2013. Syrian state television said soldiers found chemical materials on Saturday in tunnels that had been used by rebels, rejecting blame for a nerve gas attack that killed hundreds this week and heightened Western calls for foreign intervention. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

Turkish Court Investigates Syrian Jihadist Use of Chemicals

Turkish prosecutors have indicted a Syrian opposition figure with links to Jabhat al-Nusra's attempts to manufacture chemical weapons.

A protester loyal to the Shi'ite Muslim Al-Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah, wears a headband with a picture of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as he attends a demonstration against potential strikes on the Syrian government, in Sanaa September 6, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX139T8

Yemen divided over Syria conflict

A diversity of views among Yemen's citizens has led to Yemeni factions taking opposing stances regarding the conflict in Syria.

$Chief spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition Khalid Saleh speaks during a news conference in Istanbul July 4, 2013. Syria's fractious opposition coalition meets on Thursday under pressure to name a new leader and prove to its Western and Arab backers it can be trusted with advanced weapons to beat back a concerted offensive by President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11C52$

Syrian Coalition Prepares For Geneva II Conference

Khalid Saleh, spokesman for the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, says that opposition groups on the ground will support UN teams tasked to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem (R) meets U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane in Damascus, in this handout photo distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 25, 2013. Syria has agreed to allow U.N. inspectors access to sites in suburbs of Damascus where alleged chemical attacks occurred, the Syria Foreign Ministry said in a statement broadcast on state television. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST)
ATTENTION EDITO

Syrian FM Refuses to Deal With US-Backed Opposition Group

Walid Moallem, Syria’s minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, says he will not deal with the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, possibly complicating plans for Geneva II in November.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry faces protesters against a military strike in Syria, as he arrives at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Syria on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 4, 2013. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will likely vote later on Wednesday on a draft resolution authorizing the use of military force in Syria, several members of the panel said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTX13780

Using Women to Win in Syria

Women's brigades are fighting on both sides of the conflict in Syria, serving an important purpose for both regime and rebels.

Flags of the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are hung on The Martyrs Church in Raqqa city centre September 27, 2013. The Al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant removed crosses from The Martyrs Church in Raqqa and hoisted their flags on Thursday, activists say. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14223

What is Turkey’s Role In Syria’s Islamic Opposition?

Experts in Ankara question Turkey’s policies as al-Qaeda-affiliate Syrian rebel groups declare goal of establishing a Sharia-based state.

A helicopter flies as smoke rises over Westgate shopping centre after an explosion in Nairobi, September 23, 2013. Powerful explosions sent thick smoke billowing from the Nairobi mall where militants from Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group threatened to kill hostages on the third day of a raid in which at least 59 have already died. REUTERS/Karel Prinsloo (KENYA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTX13WO3

Kenya Terror Strike Al-Qaeda's Latest In Global Jihad

Al-Qaeda continually reconstitutes itself as a global terrorist threat, headquartered in Pakistan, and with franchises throughout Africa, the Middle East and worldwide.

Can Turkey, Iran Cooperate on Syria?

Working with Iran could help end Turkey’s growing isolation over the Syrian civil war.