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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

Saudi army artillery fire shells towards Houthi positions from the Saudi border with Yemen April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTR4X67W

Saudis' war effort struggles on three fronts

The two contenders to the Saudi throne need signs of impending victory in their battles against the Houthis to secure their legitimacy to lead.

Captured fighter details Islamic State's Turkey connection

A Turkish citizen who joined the Islamic State in September and was captured in early June by Syrian Kurds explained IS' induction process with chilling clarity in a video shared exclusively with Al-Monitor.

Druze children look at an Israeli army mobile artillery unit in Buqata 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. Tensions have risen in the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured from Syria in a 1967 war and later annexed in a move never recognised internationally, amid the civil war raging in Syria in the past four years.

Will Israel reach out to Syrian Druze?

Israel fears getting entangled in the Syrian civil war, but might find it difficult to categorically refuse to help the Syrian Druze community.

Syrian refugees from Tel Abyad wait on the Turkish-Syrian border after crossing into Turkey near the Akcakale border gate in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 14, 2015. Kurdish-led militia backed by U.S.-led air strikes fought Islamic State near a Syrian town at the Turkish border on Sunday, a monitoring group and a Kurdish official said, in an advance that has worried Turkey. Concerned about an expansion of Kurdish sway in Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Kurdish groups were taking over areas ev

Erdogan fears fall of Syria's Tell Abyad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is angry with the joint Kurdish-Arab operation to get the Islamic State out of Tell Abyad.

Senate to wrap up defense bill

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 15.

Supporters wave Turkish national and party flags as they shout slogans outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, June 7, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of assuming greater powers suffered a serious blow on Sunday when the ruling AK Party failed to win an outright majority in a parliamentary election, partial results showed. With 94 percent of ballots counted, the AKP had taken 41 percent of the vote, according to broadcaster CNN Turk, a result which will leave it struggling to for

Will AKP's losses spark Turkish re-think on Syria?

The ruling Justice and Development Party lost Kurdish support over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policies; Eastern patriarchs meet in Damascus to reassure Middle East Christian communities.

A man walks past abandoned buildings in the northern Syrian town of Kobani January 30, 2015. Sheets meant to hide residents from snipers' sights still hang over streets in the Syrian border town of Kobani, and its shattered buildings and cratered roads suggest those who fled are unlikely to return soon. Kurdish forces said this week they had taken full control of Kobani, a mainly Kurdish town near the Turkish border, after months of bombardment by Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that has spread across S

The Islamic State's scorched earth policy in Kobani

Since the Islamic State was defeated in Kobani in January, the group has been setting ablaze the crops of the residents there.

Artists help Syrian refugee women tell their stories

Several artists have developed projects to highlight the lives of Syrian women in refugee camps, moving beyond the image of victimhood, as they are largely portrayed in the media.

IS advances in northern Aleppo

The towns and villages of northern Aleppo’s countryside have been witnessing heavy clashes between the Islamic State and rebel factions, while Syrian regime aircraft have bombed several sites, thus suggesting cooperation between the regime and IS.

A fighter from the Southern Popular Resistance mans a machine gun at the front line of fighting against Houthi fighters, on the outskirts of Yemen's southern port city of Aden June 6, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1FETF

Former Iran ambassador: Saudis must accept Houthis

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Seyed Ali Asghar Ghoreishi, former Iranian ambassador to Yemen, discussed the nature of Iran's support for the Houthis, elements necessary to end the fighting in Yemen and the possibility of extremist groups seizing large sections of territory in Yemen.

Patriarch John X Yazigi, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, delivers a speech at a ceremony to pray for peace in a country plagued by two and a half years of war, during a Christmas mass at al-Maryamyeh church in Damascus December 25, 2013, in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE

Eastern patriarchs meet in Damascus

The Eastern patriarchs met in Damascus on June 8 to discuss the Christians’ situation in the region, following coordinating efforts between Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai and the Vatican, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi and Moscow.

Fighters of al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carry their weapons during a parade at the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the border with Turkey January 2, 2014. Picture taken January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Yaser Al-Khodor (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX170UI

IS growing in numbers, money

The Islamic State is gaining in influence while those opposing it search in vain for ways to counter the extremist organization.