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Syria

November 8, 2026

Damascus 1:36 am

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Bakr ALkasem / AFP via Getty Images

Syria foils Hezbollah-linked plot to attack Homs refinery: What to know

Syrian authorities have intensified a crackdown against Hezbollah’s alleged plans to launch attacks inside Syrian territory as well as smuggling attempts.

BING GUAN/AFP via Getty Images

Lawmakers urge Commerce Dept to ease Syria investment restrictions

Syria may be off the terrorism blacklist, but the Commerce Department’s export controls have yet to catch up.

Muzna Al-Atrash

Explainer

Meet Muzna al-Atrash, Syria's new Druze adviser for peace affairs

Atrash, from the Suwayda province and a member of the Druze community, will advise Damascus on peace affairs as it looks to assert authority in the south.

People inspect the damage at a site targeted by airstrikes

Analysis

How Syria is balancing public anger, regional stability after Jordan's strikes

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Middle East, reporting on regional politics

Latest News

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Syria flash floods kill at least 5, force hundreds of families from camps

Mohammed Mir / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Interview

US oil firm HKN aims to double output in Syria's formerly Kurdish-run fields

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026.

Matthew Zais

Matthew Zais

HKN vice president for government affairs

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

A police officer secures the scene of an explosion where a suspected suicide bomber targeted a wedding celebration in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, Turkey, August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX2MECV

Did Turkish government see Gaziantep attack coming?

Turkish officials apparently ignored intelligence information that warned of the Aug. 20 wedding massacre in Gaziantep.

A warplane, which activists said belongs to the Russian forces, flies in the sky over the southern Idlib province, Syria October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTS7PZH

Why did Russian use of Iranian air base stir up controversy?

Despite controversy, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says Russian planes in Iran left according to a previously designated agreement.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildrim addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSINN0

Resetting Turkey’s Syria policy

Ankara is trying to regain its lost influence over Syria with a radical change in policy, but its past mistakes make that a difficult challenge.

Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers fly in formation during the Victory Day parade, marking the 71st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, above Red Square in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX2DM3X

Iranian Foreign Ministry: Russian use of air base has ended

A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Russia’s use of Hamedan air base has ended for now and discussed the potential for Russian, Iranian and Turkish cooperation in the region.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carries his weapons as he walks along a street in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MEMQ

Do Ankara, Damascus perceive common Kurdish threat?

Speculation about a possible deal between Turkey and the Syrian government has intensified after Syrian fighter jets bombed Kurdish targets in Hasakah.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shake hands following a joint press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara on August 12, 2016. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

What's behind the Turkey-Iran tango?

The coup attempt in Turkey appears to have set in motion momentum for possible cooperation between Turkey and Iran on Syria.

Vehicles of the Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) take part in a military parade in the streets of Baghdad, Iraq July 12, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily - RTSHJ8K

Iraqi militias aspire to be like Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units consider themselves as an "alternative" state institution, like the IRGC; Russia-Turkey "reset" stumbles on Syria; United States and Russia need to conclude agreement on Syria.

Iraqi Shi'ite fighters salute to the shrine of Sayeda Zeinab, the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad, at Sayeda Zainab area in Damascus May 25, 2013. Picture taken May 25, 2013. REUTERS/ Alaa Al-Marjani (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) ) - RTX104SW

Will Iraq's Shiite militias flow to Syria after post-IS?

Expelling IS from Iraq will lead Iraqi Shiite militants to volunteer to fight in Syria, as the Syrian conflict continues to attract Sunni and Shiite fighters from around the world.

A Sukhoi Su-25 jet fighter flies during a drill at the Russian southern Stavropol region, March 12, 2015. Russia has started military exercises in the country's south, as well as in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and in Crimea, annexed from Ukraine last year, news agency RIA reported on Thursday, citing Russia's Defence Ministry. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4T448

Iran officials defend Russian use of Hamadan air base

Many Iranian officials were quick to downplay concerns about the legality of Russian jets using an Iranian airbase to strike targets in Syria.

Syrian refugees wait to board a Jordanian army vehicle after crossing into Jordanian territory with their families, in Al Ruqban border area, near the northeastern Jordanian border with Syria, and Iraq, near the town of Ruwaished, 240 km (149 miles) east of Amman September 10, 2015. Picture taken September 10, 2015. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX2II4S

Difficult negotiations over future of 75,000 Syrians trapped in 'no-man's land'

Since the IS June attack on Jordan’s Rukban border with Syria, the Hashemite kingdom has tightened security measures, to the point of banning food and medical aid to the Syrian refugees trapped on the border, prompting negotiations with the UN.

Russian President Vladimir Putin leads the way for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a news conference following their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSM3BJ

Will road to Moscow lead Ankara to Damascus?

Turkey has reportedly resorted to the same track II diplomacy to Damascus that it used to reconcile with Moscow.

Protesters carry Al-Qaeda flags during an anti-government protest after Friday prayers in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria, March 11, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSAD3X

Iranian military official: We will 'uproot' Jabhat al-Nusra

Jabhat al-Nusra's rebranding as independent of its parent organization al-Qaeda has not raised eyebrows in Tehran, where officials say only the group’s name has changed.