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June 17, 2026

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Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Trump’s proposal faces resistance from Damascus, skepticism from experts and opposition across Lebanon’s political spectrum.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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.

Latest News

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

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.

Exclusive

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

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)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

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

U.S. and Jordanian soldiers participate in Exercise Eager Lion at the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border, south of Amman May 18, 2015. Around 10,000 participants from 18 countries will take part in Eager Lion. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX1DI9O

Defense spending bill provides boost to Jordan

House Defense appropriators released a FY 2016 bill that seeks to help Jordan fight the Islamic State.

Syrian refugees wait with their luggage and belongings outside a hotel in Beirut to be transported by buses to Beirut international airport for resettlement in Germany April 15, 2014. About 300 Syrian refugees departed early morning from Beirut to Germany on a private chartered flight where they will be offered resettlement, UNHCR, which has been assisting the refugees in Lebanon, said. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTR3LBDE

Are European nations discriminating against Syrian refugees?

During a meeting between Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Bassil mentioned that some European countries are selecting Syrian refugees to move from Lebanon to Europe based on educational and religious standards.

Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters rest on the back of a pick-up truck with an installed weapon in Khashaat, in the Qalamoun region after they advanced in the area May 15, 2015. Lebanon's Hezbollah and Syria's army made big advances against insurgents in mountains north of Damascus on Wednesday, Hezbollah and Syrian state media said, shoring up President Bashar al-Assad's grip on the border zone. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX1D54Z

Hezbollah courts media outlets

Hezbollah gave the media a tour of parts of western Syria after seizing territory previously held by Jabhat al-Nusra.

A Lebanese Army vehicle drives down a mountain next to Ras-Baalbek, a Christian village on the outskirts of Arsal, August 30, 2014. Lebanese Christian fighters from three Christian villages that surround Arsal have been training for about three years and guarding their villages for the past year fearing a violent spillover from nearby Arsal, which is controlled by Islamic militias, according to the fighters. Picture taken August 30, 2014. REUTERS/Alia Haju (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) -

Nasrallah warns of impending Arsal battle

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah outlines some factors that seem to announce an upcoming clash in Arsal between Hezbollah fighters and IS and Jabhat al-Nusra militants.

U.S. President Barack Obama looks back toward Oman Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said (L) and the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2nd L) while hosting the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1D0ZQ

Obama, GCC leaders forge consensus on Iran

Summit statement concludes that a “comprehensive, verifiable” nuclear deal “is in the security interests” of all parties; Kerry emphasizes need for US-Russia cooperation on Syria.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 18: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey testifies before the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing on "The President's Proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against ISIL and the FY2016 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense," on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. President Obama has requested authorization for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria against ISIS from Congress. (Photo by Allison Shelley/

Congress sends mixed messages on toppling Assad

The House passed a defense bill with contradictory guidance for assistance to the Syrian rebels.

A working tunnel, which is used to smuggle people from Egypt to Gaza, is seen in the Egyptian border city of Rafah, May 13, 2013. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTXZLC7

Egyptian law could imprison refugees, asylum seekers

Egypt is in close coordination with Europe and is moving in the direction to clamp down on irregular migrants and human smugglers who would be criminalized for the first time in Egyptian law should the said migration law be implemented.

A general view shows a besieged hospital, the last remaining Syrian army foothold in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, in the province of Idlib May 3, 2015. Syrian troops backed by heavy air strikes have edged closer to a hospital in northwestern Syria where dozens of Syrian soldiers and loyalist fighters have been holed up for the past two weeks, the army said on Sunday. The town was overrun last month by insurgents, including al Qaeda's wing in Syria, Nusra Front. Picture taken May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Abd

Iran’s new strategy in Syria

Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah, seem to be getting more involved in the Syrian civil war.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad are seen at al-Sakhra village in Qalamoun Mountains, northeast of Damascus, after taking control of the village from rebel fighters April 14, 2014. Syrian soldiers backed by Hezbollah fighters recaptured the town of Maaloula, north of Damascus, on Monday, military sources and state television said, further squeezing rebels' supply routes through the Qalamoun mountains into Lebanon. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UN

The battle at Qalamoun

Hezbollah and the Syrian regime army have been fighting militants for control of the Qalamoun area near the border.

Peshmerga fighters stand guard at Mosul Dam in northern Iraq August 21, 2014. Despite its structural faults, the country's biggest dam at 3.6 km long, built by a German-Italian consortium in the 1980s, is a vital water and power source for Mosul, Iraq's largest northern city of 1.7 million residents. Control the dam and you control the 'keys' to the city. With that in mind, Islamic State insurgents who captured swathes of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate, wrested control of the dam from Kurdish force

How IS uses water as weapon of war

The Islamic State's expanding control over the water resources of the Middle East will only compound the region's water crisis.

Iran’s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided

Various Iranian Kurdish groups have split further apart instead of uniting in their struggle to obtain their rights.