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Syria

October 24, 2026

Damascus 7:20 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

Smoke rises after shells exploded in the Syrian village of Al Rafeed, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXZDAV

Syrians in Israeli-Occupied Golan Remain Divided on Assad

While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enjoys considerable support from Golan Syrians under Israeli occupation, many are speaking up against his rule.

An Alevi woman prays in the women's part of the mosque in Hacibektash, 15 August 2005. The hamlet was named after Haci Bektas Veli, who lived between 1248 and 1337, founder of the Bektashi sect and of the Alevis -- an offshoot of Shiite Islam. He is revered as a manifestation of Ali, the last of the first four Caliphs and the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed. Haci Bektas Veli, a humanist philospher, fled religious conflict in his native Central Asia, settled and lived and is buried here. The town of 8,000

Syria’s War Impacts Turkish Alevis

Syria’s sectarian conflict is spilling over into Turkey’s Alevi community.

A view shows the remains of a rocket, which residents say was recently fired into the mainly Shi'ite town of Hermel, about 30 km (20 miles) north of Arsal May 28, 2013. Several rockets have been fired into Hermel in the past 24 hours. One of them killed a woman and wounded two people, the Lebanese army said. REUTERS/Rami Bleibel (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTX1041R

Lebanon: Fault Line for Hezbollah's War on 'Takfiris' in Syria

Just hours after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah announced that his party was fighting “takfiris” in Syria, two rockets struck a Shiite neighborhood in Beirut, suggesting that those “takfiris” might have military capabilities in Lebanon.

Residents gather at the site of bomb attacks in Baghdad May 27, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a wave of bombings in markets in Shi'ite neighbourhoods across Baghdad on Monday in worsening sectarian violence in Iraq. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX10368

Sectarian War a Two-Way Street For Iraq and Syria

What lessons do Syria’s Alawites learn from the experience of the Sunnis in Iraq?

The Syrian flag is seen as people watch Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he appears on a screen during a live broadcast to speak to his supporters at an event marking Resistance and Liberation Day, in Bekaa valley May 25, 2013. The event is to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTX100E4

EU Puts Hezbollah on Notice

The European Union moves toward designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization as its arms embargo on Syria is allowed to lapse.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Paris, May 27, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX103D0

The Missing Syrian Peace

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are still working on the invitation list for Geneva II.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad carry their weapons as they move during what they said was an operation to push rebels from the road between Dahra Abd Rabbo village and Castello in Aleppo May 27, 2013. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX102VH

How We Lost The Syrian Revolution

A Syrian activist in Aleppo laments the lost revolution as he reveals the sense of betrayal felt after rebels looted and ravaged his city.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wipes his eye as he addresses a news conference during an European Union-Turkey association council in Brussels May 27, 2013. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX102QD

Revisiting Davutoglu on Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s first-ever admission of mistakes in Syria policy offers clues to his mindset.

Supporters of Hezbollah and relatives of Hezbollah members throw rice on a coffin at the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter who died in the Syrian conflict in Ouzai in Beirut May 26, 2013. Hezbollah forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops launched a fierce assault last week aimed at driving Syrian rebels out of Qusair, a strategic town close to the Lebanese border that rebels have used as a crucial supply corridor for weapons coming into Syria. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisy (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CONFLI

Hezbollah Confesses To Hand in Qusair Battle

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has explicitly acknowledged his party’s role in Syria, and sources describe the battle for Qusair.

Turkey and Syria’s Kurds Edging Toward an Uneasy Peace?

Fresh fighting between Syrian Kurdish groups and Arab opposition fighters in Syria's Kurdish region is threatening to spread.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks to the media after the Friends of Syria alliance meeting in Amman May 22, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZX4H

Davutoglu Cautiously 'Not Pessimistic' On Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says US-Turkish policies on Syria are now synchronized.

A boy wearing an army suit is held by people as they watch Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he appears on a screen during a live broadcast to speak to his supporters at an event marking Resistance and Liberation Day, in Bekaa valley May 25, 2013. The event is to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) MEDIA ANNIVERSARY) - RTX100EC

Nasrallah on Syria: 'This Battle Is Ours'

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declares war on Salafist groups and calls for "political dialogue" in Syria.