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June 16, 2026

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EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

President Donald Trump insisted he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but criticized the scale of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon.

This photo illustration taken in Damascus on May 20, 2026, shows the X account of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on a smartphone displaying his tweet to President Donald Trump.

Syria reports sabotage of undersea internet cable between Tartous and Alexandria: What to know

The affected cable connects Syria to Egypt and is one of four cables that link to the coastal city of Tartous.

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

US firm HKN Energy takes over 7 oil fields from Syria's Kurds

HKN Energy has begun operating seven oil fields under a 25-year agreement with Damascus, marking the first major production-sharing deal between Syria's new government and an international oil company.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Russia in talks on 'reformatting' its military sites in Syria: What to know

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

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

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters stand near an Islamic State flag in Tel Abyad town, Raqqa governorate, June 16, 2015. With a string of victories over Islamic State, Syria's Kurds are proving themselves an ever more dependable ally in the U.S.-led fight against the jihadists and building influence that will make them a force in Middle Eastern politics. Aided by U.S.-led air strikes, the Kurdish-led YPG militia may have dealt Islamic State its worst defeat to date in Syria by seizing the town

Kurds fight Kurds in Syria

The Islamic State may be a bitter enemy of the Kurdish forces in Syria, but many Kurds — mostly from Turkey — are fighting in the jihadist ranks.

Former Syrian Coalition head Ahmad al-Jarba (L) attends the opening session of a Syrian opposition conference, in Cairo, Egypt June 8, 2015. Syrian opposition members are meeting with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria and the need for a united opposition. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX1FN3W

Cairo's shifting stance on Syrian crisis

Cairo and its regional ally Riyadh have not been seeing eye to eye when it comes to the Syrian crisis and ways to resolve it, amid bitterness on the part of Syrian opposition factions that accuse Cairo of not strongly contributing to finding a solution to the crisis.

Militant Islamist fighters on a tank take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags

The Islamic State's first year

The Islamic State celebrates its first year anniversary amid military and strategic successes, while its regional and international enemies remain ever more confused.

Israeli soldiers walk near the frontier with Syria near Majdel Shams in the Golan Heights April 27, 2015. An Israeli air strike killed four militants on Sunday as they placed an explosive on a fence near Israel's frontier with Syria in the annexed Golan Heights, an Israeli military source said. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX1AIJ3

IDF denies ties between Israel, Jabhat al-Nusra

Following growing concerns in the Israeli Druze community over the fate of their Syrian brothers, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz tells Al-Monitor that Israel does not collaborate with Jabhat al-Nusra.

Members of the Druze community watch the fighting in the Druze village of Khadr in Syria, as they stand on the Israeli side of the border fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, near Majdal Shams, June 16, 2015. Israel's president expressed his concern to the United States last week about the fate of the Druze minority in Syria, saying around 500,000 of them were under threat from Islamist militants in an area near the Israeli border. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX1GRM4

Does Israel have moral obligation to defend Syrian Druze?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Deputy Foreign Minister Majallie Whbee expresses concern about his Syrian Druze brothers.

People gesture while others wave Kurdish flags during a gathering celebrating Newroz, which marks the arrival of spring and the new year, in Diyarbakir March 21, 2015. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called on Saturday for his militant group to hold a congress on ending a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state but stopped short of declaring an immediate halt to its armed struggle. Tens of thousands of Kurds gathered in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to hear the message from Kurdi

Can PKK, Turkey’s Hezbollah reconcile?

Resurging violence between two old Kurdish adversaries in Turkey’s southeast, the PKK and the Islamist Hezbollah, has generated fears of renewed Kurdish fratricide in the region.

Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees wait for transportation after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 10, 2015. Thousands of people crossed from Syria into Turkey on Wednesday to flee a battle pitting Islamist insurgents against Kurdish and opposition forces for the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX1FYCO

Did Ankara-backed group attack Turkish Kurds?

A string of unresolved attacks against Kurds has raised suspicions that the Turkish government is training and recruiting jihadist militants from the Syrian conflict as paramilitary forces to target government opponents.

Kurdish fighters gesture while carrying their parties' flags in Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate after they said they took control of the area June 15, 2015. Syrian Kurdish-led forces said they had captured a town at the Turkish border from Islamic State on Monday, driving it away from the frontier in an advance backed by U.S.-led air strikes that has thrust deep into the jihadists' Syria stronghold. The capture of Tel Abyad by the Kurdish YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Syrian Kurds effectively

After Tell Abyad, what's next for PYD?

While Ankara is confused what to do after the victory of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Free Syrian Army in Tell Abyad, the PYD is deciding on its next target.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters remove an Islamic State sticker in Tel Abyad town, Raqqa governorate, June 16, 2015. With a string of victories over Islamic State, Syria's Kurds are proving themselves an ever more dependable ally in the U.S.-led fight against the jihadists and building influence that will make them a force in Middle Eastern politics. Aided by U.S.-led air strikes, the Kurdish-led YPG militia may have dealt Islamic State its worst defeat to date in Syria by seizing the town

Kurds eye new corridor to Mediterranean

The dream of a Kurdish corridor from Jazeera to Afrin appears to be attainable, but everything depends on the complicated relationships the Kurds are working to maintain in the area's complex ethnic and ideological makeup.

Erdogan sees threat from Kurdish gains in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives priority to battle Kurdish “terror organizations” over the Islamic State; the Islamic State's scorched-earth practices in Kobani; the Druze lobby in Israel.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk inside the government- controlled Hanano barracks after what they said was an offensive against them by Free Syrian Army fighters in Aleppo April 17, 2014. The regime forces said that Free Syrian Army fighters carried an offensive against them by digging a tunnel and blowing up part of the Hannano barracks in an attempt to seize it and failed to do so. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR3LPQX

Why Assad may be helping Islamic State’s offensive

The latest regime airstrikes against rebels in Aleppo’s northern countryside seem to benefit the Islamic State, but also help the Syrian government divide its enemies.

Moroccan Salafist preacher Hassan al-Kettani speaks during a demonstration against an anti-Islam film made in the U.S. that mocks the Prophet Mohammad outside a mosque in the impoverished Rahma neighbourhood of Sale, September 21, 2012. The banner reads, "There is only one God and Mohammad is his prophet". REUTERS/Stringer (MOROCCO - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3890E

How Morocco plans to contain its Salafists

Several prominent Salafists in Morocco have surprised the nation by joining mainstream political parties.