Syria Conflict

Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

Syria seizes arms shipment on Iraq border destined for Hezbollah

The operation comes as part of the Syrian authorities' efforts to curb illicit arms smuggling through its territory, namely intended for Hezbollah.

A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump at White House in Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria, US hold first business forum since sanctions relief: What to know

The one-day forum in Damascus was organized by Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and the US-Syria Business Council, which was established in Washington last June to advance trade and investment between the two nations.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, showcasing Paris' support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while seeking to secure a share of the country's emerging reconstruction market.

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

The terrorism label remained a key obstacle to Syria's postwar reconstruction.

Latest News

Explainer

French energy, shipping giants explore Syria deals during Macron visit

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron following a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Macron's Syria visit eyes to boost France's economic role: What to know

Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images

Two explosions hit Damascus as Macron visits Syria

Security personnel and first responders prepare to cordon off an area near the Four Seasons Hotel following two blasts nearby in Damascus on July 7, 2026. Syrian authorities said 18 people were wounded by two blasts in central Damascus on July 7 near the hotel where France's president spent the night, with the Elysee Palace saying his visit is ongoing. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

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

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

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

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army's official website on September 11, 2020, shows an Iranian Simorgh drone carrying a weapon during the second day of a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran. - The Iranian navy began on September 10 a three-day exercise in the Sea of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, deploying an array of warships, drones and missiles. One of the exercise's objectives is to devise "tactical offensive and defensive strategies

Iran adheres to ambiguity over attack on US base in Syria

Iranian officials continue to neither confirm nor deny responsibility for a recent deadly attack on US forces in Syria that has been blamed on Tehran-backed proxies.

Seized drugs, including Captagon, are displayed for the media in the town of Marea, in the northern Aleppo countryside, on May 24, 2022, following clashes among different Turkey-backed factions in Syria. - A decade of appalling civil war has left Syria fragmented and in ruins but one thing crosses every frontline: the drug fenethylline, commercially known as captagon. The stimulant -- once notorious for its association with Islamic State fighters -- has spawned an illegal $10-billion industry that not only

New US sanctions target Syria's Captagon trade linked to Assad

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on six individuals in Syria and Lebanon, including two cousins of President Bashar al-Assad, who are linked to the Syrian regime's Captagon production and export.

Displaced families celebrate with their children the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, at a luna park in Afrin, Aleppo province, Syria, May 3, 2022.

Culture

Syrians in Damascus spend Ramadan in darkness

The usual decorations and hubbub synonymous with the holy month are missing this year in Syria, amid a devastating war, economic crisis and the fallout from a deadly earthquake.

Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie testifies during a Senate Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill March 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. The committee met to receive testimony on the posture of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Africa Command, two of the eleven unified combatant commands in the U.S. Department of Defense. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Former US officials sound alarm on Biden's Syria policy

A group of former US officials including Marine General Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie Jr. and former Syria envoy James Jeffrey are urging the Biden administration to counter the region's rapprochement with Syria.

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says

Syrian refugees in Turkey remain a central theme ahead of the country's critical May 14 elections.

A merchant presents desert truffles at a stall in a market in the city of Hama in west-central Syria on March 6, 2023.

Islamic State kills 15 truffle hunters in Syria, as clashes resume in Aleppo

The two incidents demonstrated the continued dangers of the Syrian civil war, even as the conflict has wound down somewhat.

US-made armoured vehicles bearing markings of the US Marine Corps are seen on a road north of Raqa in northern Syria on March 27, 2017. US-backed forces battled the Islamic State group around a key Syrian town, after the capture of an airbase brought them closer to besieging the jihadists in their stronghold Raqa.Operations are currently focused on the strategically important town of Tabqa on the Euphrates River, and the adjacent dam and military airport. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should r

Second attack on US military in Syria following Pentagon’s airstrikes

The US military said it struck Iranian-affiliated targets in eastern Syria in response to an earlier drone attack.

An Algerian flag is displayed on a small boat used by migrants to cross The Alboran Sea, in an open-air warehouse in Almeria, southeast Spain, on October 15, 2021. - At least 309 migrants, 13 of them minors, have died in the western Mediterranean since the start of the year, figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) show. The number of Algerians arriving on the coast of southeastern Spain or the Balearic Isles has soared in recent months. A confidential document compiled by the Spanish

Algeria disbands migrant smuggling network to Europe, arrests nine Syrians

The arrest of the network coincided with a migrant boat capsizing off the coast of Tunisia, killing five people.

A picture taken on February 19, 2020, shows a general view of the airport of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo upon the relaunch of commercial flights. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel strikes Syria’s Aleppo airport for second time in two weeks

The reported strike follows increased Israeli military planning against Iran, and comes in midst of Arab openness to the Assad government

An AS332 Super Puma military helicopter flies during a graduation ceremony for Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga officers.

Iraqi Kurdish authorities hand over remains of Syrian Kurdish elite forces from mystery helicopter crash

Circumstances of the helicopter crash have raised even more questions about the mission of those onboard.

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during an International Donors Conference for Turkey and Syria.

US announces $50 million in earthquake aid for Syria, Turkey

The funding announcement brings the total US contribution since the Feb. 6 disaster to $235 million.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed welcoming his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday in Abu Dhabi

Analysis

Assad's UAE visit aims to facilitate aid routes, Syria's return to Arab League

Proposals to facilitate humanitarian aid and bring Syria back into the Arab League topped the agenda in the Syrian president’s second visit to the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of the civil war.

By Salim A. Essaid