Syria Conflict

SDF fighters wave flags and flash victory signs from a vehicle during a convoy procession in Aleppo, Syria, on April 9, 2025.

After weeks of threats, is Turkey softening line on Syrian SDF?

Turkey’s dialing down of rhetoric may be linked to ongoing Israel-Damascus security talks, an expert told Al-Monitor.

People unload containers at the port of Latakia in western Syria on Dec. 30, 2024.

US eases export controls to boost Syria's recovery

The move is the Trump administration’s latest bid to assist the country's postwar reconstruction.

Sharjah International Airport is an airport located 13 kilometers southeast of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Syrian airline Fly Cham launches flights to UAE’s Sharjah as ties warm

The United Arab Emirates is relatively bearish on Syria’s Islamist government, though ties are advancing both politically and economically.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Saudi companies signed agreements with Syria’s Ministry of Energy during the kingdom’s participation in the Damascus International Fair in Damascus, on Aug. 28, 2025.

ACWA Power, TAQA among Saudi firms backing Syria's energy comeback

Some 14 years of civil war have wiped at least $800 billion from the country’s gross domestic product, according to UN figures.

Latest News

Syria says six soldiers killed in Israeli drone strike as US pushes for security deal

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Syria partners with Nokia to rebuild digital infrastructure after years of war

Analysis

Will Israel’s potential Syria security deal intensify its rivalry with Turkey?

Israel military vehicles drive along the border fence into Israel, near the town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, July 17, 2025.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

New Druze militia forms in Syria as Hijri calls for autonomy

Druze religious leader Hikmat al-Hijri is pictured on Dec. 28, 2024, Suwayda, Syria.

A Syrian refugee gestures as she speaks with Turkish soldiers at Cilvegozu crossborder gate before entering in Syria at Reyhanli district in Hatay, on December 9, 2024. Islamist-led rebels declared on December 8, 2024, that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

'Immense joy and disbelief': Syrians in Turkey want to return, but uncertainty prevails

While celebrating President Bashar al-Assad's fall, many Syrians in Turkey remain cautious about returning until more stability and security are assured.

A correspondent in Turkey

By A correspondent in Turkey

Members of the Syrian community in Berlin hold flags of Syria and Germany as they celebrate the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Dec. 8, 2024.

Analysis

EU seeks channels with HTS as it grapples with post-Assad Syria

The European Union will need a creative solution to establish communications with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a designated terror organization and the caretaker government in Syria.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei spoke in Tehran about recent developments in region on Dec. 11, 2024.

Analysis

Despite Assad's departure, Iran sees opportunity in Syria power play

Iran's supreme leader does not appear ready to lose sight of Syria despite Assad's downfall, seeking to capitalize on the rifts within Syria's diverse political and sectarian fabric.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

People chant slogans and wave flags in celebration after performing the first Friday prayer since the fall of the Assad regime at the Umayyad Mosque on Dec. 13, 2024 in Damascus, Syria.

Gulf states reach out to new Syrian leaders ahead of Jordan talks: What we know

Bahrain's King Hamad sent a letter to HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, while the UAE has held direct contact with opposition groups. Qatar is set to reopen embassy in Damascus soon.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel builds flexible presence in Syria as window opens to strike Iran

Israeli leaders keep stressing that the military presence in the buffer zone and on Mount Hermon is temporary, but a lot will depend on who will control Syria hence on

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

People examine documents at Sednaya Prison, where thousands of people were said to be detained and tortured by the Assad regime.

After Assad downfall, US family clings to hope as Syria prison search unfolds

The daughter of Majd Kamalmaz, an American citizen presumed dead in Syria, describes her anguish as she awaits answers on what happened to her father.

An aerial view shows a Syrian man waving the independence-era Syrian flag at Damascus' central Umayyad Square, on Dec. 11, 2024.

Turkey’s intel chief in Damascus, set to meet Syria's transition, HTS leaders

The Turkish intelligence chief reportedly plans to hold talks with rebel leaders as US Secretary Antony Blinken is due to arrive in Ankara for crucial discussions on Syria.

Mohamed Bashir, who heads HTS's so-called Salvation Government, holds a press conference in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on Nov. 28, 2024.

Who is who in Syria’s first interim government after Assad's fall

HTS and its government arm have installed a new interim prime minister and cabinet in Damascus. Who are they?

Fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) inspect damaged and abandoned military vehicles and equipment at the Qamishli international airport, formerly a joint Syrian-russian military base, in northeastern Syria's city of Qamishli on Dec. 9, 2024.

Exclusive

Syria’s Kurds withdraw from Manbij following US ultimatum

The ultimatum came as the militants failed to comply with an agreement brokered by the United States to pull out of the city in exchange for assurances that Turkey and its SNA allies would not attack the SDF east of the river.

Amberin Zaman

Jared Szuba

By Amberin Zaman , Jared Szuba

Syrian pounds are pictured at a currency exchange shop in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on June 15, 2020.

Syria's interim PM warns foreign currency shortage could hinder refugee return

Nearly 14 years of civil war, international sanctions and the exodus of 4.82 million Syrians have crippled the economy, resulting in a sharp decline of the Syrian pound.

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar to reopen embassy in Syria after 13 years

Doha is looking to engage with the Islamist-led government in Syria after severing relations 13 years ago over deposed President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown.

US forces patrol oil fields near Syria's northeastern border with Turkey in the Qahtaniyah countryside in the far northeast corner of Hasakah province, on Sept. 3, 2024.

Top US general meets with Syria’s Kurdish forces after Assad falls

Washington has laid out its conditions for supporting post-Assad governance but appears reluctant to leverage its military foothold in Syria as Turkey-backed rebels continued to attack the Kurdish-led SDF, threatening the fragile cohesion among US-backed militias seen as essential to keeping a lid on the dangerous remnants of Islamic State group.