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Syria

November 8, 2026

Damascus 6:40 pm

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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

Turkish protesters march with a burnt national flag as they shout slogans against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a demonstration against the Turkish government's policy on Syria, in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border, May 13, 2013. Syria's information minister has blamed Turkey's government for deadly car bombings near the Syrian border and branded Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan a "murderer", state-run Russian TV company RT reported on Monday. It said he repeated a d

Pressure Mounts on Turkey Over Radical Groups in Syria

A recent Human Rights Watch report has drawn further attention to the need for Turkey to control its border and prevent the influx of jihadists to Syria.

Iran's President Hassan Rohani (C) walks next to delegate members after speaking in a High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament during the 68th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX140O5

The Iranian Trend And Geneva Nuclear Talks

Al-Monitor’s coverage of Iran as negotiations commence this week in Geneva with expectations of progress on the nuclear file, and implications for Syria and the region.

Syrian Arab Village Welcomes Kurdish Fighters

Villagers consider arrival of Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) forces a liberation in light of the presence of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director General Ahmet Uzumcu arrives at a news conference in The Hague October 11, 2013. The OPCW, which is overseeing the destruction's of Syria's arsenal, won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday. Set up in 1997 to eliminate all chemicals weapons worldwide, its mission gained critical importance this year after a sarin gas strike in the suburbs of Damascus killed more than 1,400 people in August. REUTERS/Michel Kooren (

UN Body Led by Ahmet Uzumcu Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed deep pride for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, led by a Turk, Ahmet Uzumcu.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) looks past his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd R) during the opening of a ministerial meeting in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 13, 2013. The OIC urged its member states to make generous contributions at this week's main donors conference on Mali to be held in Brussels, which aims to raise funds to repair the damage caused by the war against Islamists in the African country. AFP PHOTO/STR

Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente

The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks with Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14195

Is Iran Changing Its Policies In Syria, Lebanon?

While eyes are on the Oct. 15-16 nuclear talks in Geneva, Iranian policies in Lebanon and Syria may already be showing a more moderate trend under President Hassan Rouhani.

A Free Syrian Army fighter carrying his weapon, walks along a street as Syrian opposition (bottom) and Popular Protection Units (YPG) flags flutter, in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood, June 7, 2013. Kurdish fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) joined the Free Syrian Army fighters to fight against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10USV

Syria’s Kurds Divided Over Geneva II Conference

Syria’s Kurdish parties consider whether to be represented independently or as part of the Syrian National Coalition.

A Syrian Kurd Asaish stands at a security checkpoint at Derik in Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Picture taken October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR39WOM

Syrian Kurdish Leader Urges Turkey To End Support for Salafists

Saleh Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, had messages for Ankara in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

DAVOS, Switzerland: Tel Aviv University President Itamar Rabinovich speaks at the "Breaking the Vicious Circle of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" conference, 25 January 2004 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. AFP PHOTO Eric FEFERBERG (Photo credit should read ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

Rabinovitch Says Israel Benefits From US-Russia Deal on Syria

Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, says Israel benefited from the chemical weapons agreement with Syria, but warns of a weakening US position relative to Russia in the region.

Kurdish security forces inspect the site of a bomb attack in the city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, September 29, 2013. Six people were killed on Sunday in a series of explosions outside a security directorate in the capital of Iraq's usually peaceful autonomous Kurdistan region, security and medical sources said. Gunfire could be heard after the blasts in Arbil that wounded a further 36 people, according to the city's health directorate

Prison Break, Suicide, Bombing Rock Iraqi Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq deals with the implications of its first terrorist attack in six years.

A student studying in Syria carries his luggage as he crosses through the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights July 11, 2013. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said 23 students, mostly from the Druze community, crossed into the Golan Heights from Syria at Quneitra on Thursday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTX11JTW

Golan Heights Students Return To Syria Despite War

Despite the war in Syria, some students from the Golan Heights are still crossing back into Syria to continue their university studies.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Cctober 8, 2013 during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara. Turkey lifted on October 8 a ban on women wearing the Islamic head scarf in state institutions, ending a decades-old restriction as part of a package of reforms instigated by Erdogan. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan's Frustration Shows Over Syria Deal

The Turkish prime minister is questioning John Kerry's praise of Syria’s compliance to date with UN Security Council Resolution 2118.