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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

A picture shows an Israeli army UAV landing in an airfield, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on January 20, 2015, two days after an Israeli air strike killed six Hezbollah members in the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights. The strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed on January 19, as thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah gathered to bury one of the six fighters killed in the same raid. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Image

Why Israel's Hezbollah strike didn't bother Turkey's Islamists

The latest Israeli attack on Hezbollah reveals Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s anti-Assad stance is stronger than his anti-Israel rhetoric.

The Alawite neighbourhood of Jabal Mohsen is seen through a bullet hole in the window of an apartment in the Sunni Mankoubin district in Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli on August 25, 2012, following clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the city, stoking fears of a spillover of bloodshed. AFP PHOTO / ANWAR AMRO (Photo credit should read ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images)

Poor Tripoli district becomes hotbed for extremists

Mankoubin is one of the impoverished neighborhoods of Tripoli, producing youths who have joined such extremist groups as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State and have carried out attacks in Syria and Iraq, as well as in Lebanon.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) members organise a funeral for members who died during recent clashes with forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in al-Hasakah, activists said May 23, 2014. Picture taken May 23, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3QNP1

After Kobani, where is Islamic State's next target?

The besieged strategic Kurdish town of Hasakah, swollen by an influx of refugees and barrel-bombed by Syrian regime forces, is coming under fire from the Islamic State.

Syrians stand in a queue to get a visa stamp entering Lebanon town during their arrival at the Lebanese Masna'a border point in eastern Bekaa of Lebanon January 22, 2013.
REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3CSRV

Lebanese visa regulations cause more distress for Syrians

The announcement of new regulations requiring Syrians to obtain visas to enter Lebanon has caused consternation and confusion among Syrians as well as in the Lebanese government.

Lebanon's Hezbollah members carry the coffin of Jihad Moughniyah during his funeral in Beirut's suburbs January 19, 2015. The son of Hezbollah's late military leader Imad Moughniyah was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in Syria on Sunday, a statement from the group said. The man (bottom C, wearing glasses) is the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc Mohamed Raad. REUTERS/Aziz Taher (LEBANON - Tags: OBITUARY MILITARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4M0GK

IRGC vows revenge after Israeli attack

Iranian military commanders say that the Israeli strike against a Hezbollah convoy in Syria will not deter them.

Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who is investigating the 1994 car-bomb attack on the AMIA Jewish community center, pauses during a meeting with journalists at his office in Buenos Aires May 29, 2013. Nisman accused Iran on Wednesday of creating networks to carry out terrorist attacks in Latin America since the 1980's, and he said he will send his findings to courts in those countries so they can take action. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci (ARGENTINA - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX105FT

Should Israel protect Jewish Diaspora or its own citizens?

Israel must concentrate on protecting its own citizens, in spite of the risks for the Jews of the world, focusing on military targets and not potential reprisals against Jewish targets outside its borders.

An Israeli soldier looks through binoculars towards the border with Lebanon from above the Israeli town of Metula January 20, 2015. Hezbollah supporters turned out in force on Monday to bury the son of the group's late commander, one of six fighters who died in an Israeli air strike in neighbouring Syria that also killed an Iranian general. Israel has not officially commented on the hit, but an Israeli security source confirmed to Reuters that Israel had carried it out. An Israeli defence official said esca

Hezbollah's three options on Israel

The Lebanese Shiite group has only a few options for responding to the Israeli strike against it in Syria and wants to be careful not to cause an expansion of the conflict onto Lebanese territory.

An Israeli soldier from the Golani brigade takes part in training near the city of Katzrin in the Golan Heights January 19, 2015. An Israeli helicopter strike in Syria killed a commander from Lebanon's Hezbollah and the son of the group's late military leader Imad Moughniyah, Hezbollah said, in a major blow that could lead to reprisal attacks.The strike hit a convoy carrying Jihad Moughniyah and commander Mohamad Issa, known as Abu Issa, in the province of Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,

Israel anticipates Hezbollah's reaction

Israeli security experts estimate that although Hezbollah is not interested in raising tensions with Israel, it will respond to the Jan. 18 attack on its convoy, either in the Golan Heights or against Israeli targets abroad.

Militant Islamist fighters ride horses as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade 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 from cars and holding guns in

Decentralization of powers weakens IS

The Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is forced to limit his movements while relying on primitive means of communication, which weakens the organization.

Children freeze to death in Aleppo refugee camp

At least four children have died from the cold in the Bab al-Salameh camp in the Aleppo countryside as supplies run low for Syria’s internally displaced.

Syrians stand in a queue to get a visa stamp to enter Lebanon town during their arrival at the Lebanese Masna'a border point in eastern Bekaa, January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3CSS0

New visa regulations confuse Syrians

Syrians in Lebanon who have legal residency permits are worried that new regulations will not protect them from being deported.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem (3rd L) speaks to Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (3rd R) during a meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, November 26, 2014. Putin met al-Moualem in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi for talks on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. Moualem's two-day visit to Russia, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian conflict, appears to be the latest move in a renewed diplomatic effort by Moscow to restart

Moscow prepares for meeting of Syrian leaders

Russia is set to proctor a meeting of Syrian opposition figures, who will then meet with representatives of the Syrian regime in an inclusive and open dialogue with no preconditions, as a step toward resuming the Geneva deliberations.