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Syria

July 7, 2026

Damascus 8:06 am

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Farmers roast harvested wheat using fire in a field on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, on May 18, 2026.

Analysis

How Syria’s wheat fields turned into first battleground over reconstruction

A battle over wheat prices could be the first political contest over who reconstruction will benefit.

Haddon Barth

By Haddon Barth

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

On June 26, Emirati and Syrian officials discussed plans for a logistics corridor connecting Syrian ports to Gulf markets via Iraq.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

The episodes in Druze-majority Suwayda escalated amid kidnappings, various disputes, and absent movement on integrating Druze into state institutions.

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

The project is the latest in a series of Gulf-backed investments aimed at rebuilding Syria's energy sector after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Latest News

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

At least 6 killed, 22 wounded in Damascus cafe explosion: What to know

Syrian security forces and people gather at the site of an explosion at a cafe in the capital, Damascus, on July 2, 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

Members of the Khabour Guards (MNK) Assyrian Syrian militia, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), walk in the ruins of the Assyrian Church of the Virgin Mary, which was previously destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in the village of Tal Nasri south of the town of Tal Tamr in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Nov. 15, 2019.

Turkish strike kills 3 members of Kurdish-allied Christian force in northeast Syria

Wednesday's drone strikes are in line with Turkey’s ongoing campaign to degrade and destroy the SDF and the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeast Syria.

UWAYDA24/AFP via Getty Images

Syria: One killed in Suwayda as protests resume against Assad government

The death marks the first time a protester has been killed since the protests in Suwayda began last year over Syria’s dire economic situation.

People check the damage on a building reportedly hit in an Israeli air strike in the Kafr Sousa district of the Syrian capital Damascus on February 21, 2024. At least two people were killed on February 21 in an Israeli attack on Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian state media.

Syria says Israel behind multiple attacks in Damascus, at least 3 killed

The strikes occurred in a district close to housing state security agencies.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Russia sets up observation points in Syria near Golan Heights

New Russian observation posts have popped up in southwest Syria amid increased tensions between pro-Iranian groups and Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.

An ambulance leaves from Santa Maria Church as anti-riot police officers block the street after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 28, 2024.

How and why ISIS-K has resurged in Turkey

The latest attack on an Istanbul church signals the militant group’s resurgence in Turkey.

A man walks past a poster of President Bashar al-Assad, a candidate in the presidential election, Damascus, Syria, May 17, 2021.

Congress pushes White House to toughen anti-Assad policy

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation meant to combat the normalization of Syria's long-shunned regime.

Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike as flares fall on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, near the border with Israel, Jan. 19, 2024.

Suspected Israeli strikes in Syria amid escalation with Hezbollah in Lebanon

A Hezbollah commander in Lebanon was injured in an Israeli strike as foreign diplomats worked to de-escalate tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Salih Muslim, the diplomatic relations official for the Kurdish Movement for a Democratic Society, and the former co-chairman of the main Kurdish leftist Democratic Union Party (PYD), speaks during an interview in his office on August 2, 2018.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim warns of 'forceful response' to Iran-linked attacks

Muslim's spoke to Al-Monitor two days after an attack on an SDF training camp in Deir Ezzor by Iran-backed militias left six dead.

Salih Muslim

Salih Muslim

PYD co-chairman

A Royal Air Force Typhoon FRG4s is being prepared to conduct further strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen at RAF Akrotiri on Feb. 3, 2024.

Pentagon vows more strikes against Iran-backed groups, rejects open-ended campaign

The Pentagon says it isn't planning for an open-ended campaign of retaliation against Iran-backed groups, even as Israel vows to expand its war in Gaza on to the Rafah area.

A vehicle of the Syrian Democratic Forces is pictured along a road as fighters deploy to impose a curfew in the town of al-Busayrah during a guided media tour organized by the SDF, in northeastern Deir ez-Zor province, Syria, Sept. 4, 2023.

6 Kurdish SDF forces killed in Iran-linked attack on Syria base housing US troops

The drone attack left at least six dead among the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Jared Elizabeth US-Iran proxy webinar

US confrontation with Iran’s proxies: Live Q&A with Jared Szuba and Elizabeth Hagedorn

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Bashar Assad during the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Saudi Press Agency / Saudi Press Agency via AP

Gulf thaw with Syria gains steam: UAE sends envoy, Saudi diplomats plan visit

The reports about the Saudi visit come after the UAE’s first ambassador to Syria in more than a decade took up his post.