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Palmyra

Syria

November 8, 2026

Damascus 7:41 am

13°C

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

Davutoglu proposes refugee 'container city'

Davutoglu, while advocating a container city for refugees in a safe zone, is ignoring the serious risks it would entail.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin look towards one another during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1SYAC

Congress hesitant to share IS intelligence with Putin, Assad

Lawmakers are ambivalent about greater cooperation in countering foreign fighters.

Will Russia’s move ruin Erdogan’s plan for Syria?

Will Turkey’s rules of engagement against Syrian planes now apply to Russian planes flying near the Turkish border?

Congress pursues 'death by 1,000 cuts' strategy against Iran deal

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Sept. 28.

Will US, Russia find common ground in Syria?

A common enemy, the Islamic State, should be the first step in an expanded international coalition; does Iraqi Kurdistan face the prospect of "administrative breakup"?

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil talks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Beirut September 10, 2015. Arab countries should share the burden in supporting and hosting Syrian refugees, Bassil said on Thursday, highlighting the pressure a growing crisis has put on Syria's immediate neighbours. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi - RTSIRQ

Lebanese foreign minister: We cannot be the only ones receiving refugees

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Gebran Bassil talks about the Syrian refugee crisis and the effects of the presidential vacancy on his country.

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani arrives during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015, at the United Nations in New York. AFP PHOTO/Dominick Reuter (Photo credit should read DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani blasts Saudi 'ineptitude' for hajj tragedy

In a wide-ranging conversation with senior representatives of US media, Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear deal, if implemented, could be “something to build on” in US-Iran relations and efforts to resolve other regional conflicts, but offered no details.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen delivering his speech to the U.S. Congress on television screens in an electronics store in a Jerusalem shopping mall March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWX2

What Israel should do about Iran

Israel, if it fully takes into account the Mideast's yawning Sunni-Shiite divide, could benefit from reconsidering its point of view on Iran.

An image distributed by Islamic State militants on social media on August 25, 2015 purports to show the destruction of a Roman-era temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters the images did appear to show the destruction of the ancient Baal Shamin temple and correlated with descriptions given by residents of the explosion detonated there on Sunday. Five photos were distributed on social media showing explosives being carried inside, being planted a

Turkey major conduit for Syrian 'blood antiquities'

Turkey is a major transit country used by the Islamic State for trafficking looted antiquities, but authorities have not been forthcoming about their seizures.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) receives Russia's new ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinschaka (C) in Damascus, in this February 9, 2015 handout photo by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. EDITORIAL U

Russian role in Syria still anyone's guess

It's difficult to tell how involved Russia plans to become in fighting terrorism in the Middle East, let alone how it might approach such an undertaking.

Jaish al-Islam takes control of Tel Kurdi in eastern Ghouta

In a new military operation, Jaish al-Islam has succeeded in taking over Tel Kurdi, a strategic region in Syria.

Kerry's remarks on Syria trouble Turkey

Despite Ankara’s dissatisfaction over suggestions that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has to be part of a settlement, experts say there is little Turkey can do to alter the course of events.