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Syria

October 24, 2026

Damascus 4:40 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

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Arab Spring Triggers Renaissance in Turkish Art

More than 560 years after the fall of Constantinople, which precipitated an exodus of artists, the Arab Spring has created an influx of artists to Istanbul.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) attends an official meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran October 2, 2010. REUTERS/KHAMENEI.IR/Handout (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTXSY63

Iranians Differ Widely On Military Intervention in Syria

Most Iranians support their government seeking an end to the war in Syria, but differ on whether to provide direct military support to President Bashar Al-Assad's regime.

An employee stamps stacks of Syrian pound notes at the Syrian central bank in Damascus April 23, 2013. Picture taken April 23, 2013. To match SYRIA-CURRENCY/ REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT BUSINESS) - RTXYYC3

Syria’s Economic Crisis Magnifies Human Tragedy

Often eclipsed by the Syrian conflict’s exorbitant human cost, the embattled country’s economy has plummeted over the past three years under stringent international sanctions.

Workers repair machine gun at Jabal Al-Turkman near the coastal city of Latakia, October 30, 2012. REUTERS/Abu Al-Hassan/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR39SAY

Syrian Opposition Condemns Jihadists Targeting Alawites

Syria's internal opposition has condemned attacks on Alawite civilians in Latakia.

Journalists Bryn Karcha (C) of Canada and Toshifumi Fujimoto (R) of Japan run for cover next to an unidentified fixer in a street in Aleppo's district of Salaheddine December 29, 2012. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT MEDIA) - RTR3BZ0P

Risks Increase to Cover Syria War

Journalists covering Syria face increased number of abductions.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrive for a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZPAE

Turkey Reconsiders Support For Jabhat Al-Nusra

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells US President Barack Obama he is “disturbed” by the rise of extremist groups in Syria.

Protesters chant slogans against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as they hold a poster of deceased al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (top), during a protest in solidarity with Syria's anti-government protesters, in the port-city of Tripoli in north Lebanon October 7, 2011. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2SCOJ

Has Al-Qaeda Infiltrated Lebanon?

Amid regional chaos, some fear that al-Qaeda may have spread to Lebanon in the form of sleeper cells.

Heads of Arab states gather ahead of a group photo during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. Russia criticised the Arab League on Wednesday for giving a seat formerly held by the Syrian government to a representative of the Syrian opposition at a summit in Doha. Picture taken March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CA

Will Syria War Mean End of Sykes-Picot?

There is speculation that the Syria war could signal a change in long-standing borders.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) meets with Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in Ankara July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1252R

Turkey’s Syrian Kurdish Gamble: A Double Edged Sword

Turkey’s efforts to contain Syrian Kurdish autonomy while pursuing peace with its own Kurds could backfire.

A Kurdish fighter from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) shows his weapon decorated with his party's flag, as a fellow fighter looks on in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood, June 7, 2013. Kurdish fighters from the YPG joined the Free Syrian Army 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) - RTX10UT2

US Condemns Jihadist Attacks On Syrian Kurds

US follows Russia and Iran in criticizing jihadist attacks on Syrian Kurds.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu hold a joint news conference at the Russian embassy in Washington after their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, August 9, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX12FAI

Russia’s Course in Syria Unchanged

Al-Monitor’s coverage of US and Russian policies toward Syria; the protests in Egypt; and the return of reformist and Islamic chic in Iran.

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the road leading to Beirut international airport, following the kidnap of a Turkish airlines pilot and his colleague in Beirut, August 9, 2013. A Turkish Airlines pilot and his colleague were abducted in Lebanon on Friday by armed men who forced them from a bus driving from Beirut airport in the early hours of the morning. The Turkish foreign ministry and the airline said they were in close contact with the Lebanese authorities but had no immediate information on who was behind

Turkish Pilots Abducted At Gunpoint in Beirut

Two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped in Beirut early Friday, Aug. 9, to put pressure on the Turkish government to help release nine Shiite Lebanese hostages in Syria since May 2012.