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July 8, 2026

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron following a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

French energy, shipping giants explore Syria deals during Macron visit

The two countries signed preliminary pacts spanning transport, healthcare, banking, infrastructure and development on Tuesday, even as twin explosions in the capital underscored the fragile investment environment.

Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images

Macron's Syria visit eyes to boost France's economic role: What to know

The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and various regional developments during the first visit by a Western head of state to Syria since the civil war ended.

Security personnel and first responders prepare to cordon off an area near the Four Seasons Hotel following two blasts nearby in Damascus on July 7, 2026. Syrian authorities said 18 people were wounded by two blasts in central Damascus on July 7 near the hotel where France's president spent the night, with the Elysee Palace saying his visit is ongoing. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Two explosions hit Damascus as Macron visits Syria

Two explosions hit Damascus on Tuesday morning as French President Emmanuel Macron made the first visit to Syria by a Western leader.

Latest News

Analysis

How Syria’s wheat fields turned into first battleground over reconstruction

Farmers roast harvested wheat using fire in a field on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, on May 18, 2026.

Haddon Barth

By Haddon Barth

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

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

Israeli soldiers chat as they stand near the Quneitra crossing in the Golan Heights on the border line between Israel and Syria, October 15, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DE3AFB000

Israel concerned over American exit of Syria

US withdrawal from Syria leaves Israel alone in the campaign against Iranian entrenchment there.

An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter plane flying above a traffic sign after taking off for a mission in Lebanon from an Israeli Air Force Base in northern Israel in this July 20, 2006 file photo. Israeli warplanes bombed unidentified Syrian targets early on September 6, 2007, causing no damage or casualties, the official Syrian news agency said. Syrian air defences fired at the incoming planes, which crossed into Syria after midnight local time, the agency said. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/Files (ISRAEL) - GM1DWCBQYXA

Intel: Why Israel plans to fill in US void in Syria

U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are seen at the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause - RC1C67E741D0

Is Erdogan’s brinkmanship forcing Washington to climb down?

Ankara is pleased with Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria, but it greets this decision with a mixture of caution and skepticism.

Turkish observation posts are seen on the Turkish side as Kurdish protesters gather to protest near the border wall separating Turkey from Syria in the western Syrian countryside of Ras al-Ain on December 20, 2018. - Syrian Kurdish forces said they will keep fighting the Islamic State group in eastern Syria unless they come under Turkish attack, after their US allies announced their withdrawal. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian analysts welcome US withdrawal from Syria

Iran's government has not officially reacted to Trump's announcement of a US withdrawal from Syria, but Iranian analysts have welcomed the news.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shake hands as they attend a news conference after talks on forming a constitutional committee in Syria, at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC1C28C75F90

Despite difficulties, Russia optimistic about Syria's Constitutional Committee

Though the UN has yet to confirm who will serve on Syria's Constitutional Committee, the Astana trio is optimistic about the committee's overall prospects, especially after the United States announced it will withdraw its troops from Syria.

U.S. and Turkish soldiers conduct the first-ever combined joint patrol outside Manbij, Syria, November 1, 2018. Picture taken November 1, 2018. Courtesy Arnada Jones/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC17C4EA11D0

US diplomats shaken by Trump decision to exit Syria

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw from Syria humiliates US envoys who have said the United States would maintain a presence indefinitely to prevent the return of the Islamic State and to counter Iran’s influence.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the news media while gathering for a briefing from his senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC1C2E1A2820

Trump’s Syria pullout shakes up US Mideast policy

The US president’s snap decision to withdraw 2,200 US troops from Syria will have an impact across the region.

General Chiya, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria’s Middle Euphrates River Valley, speaks with U.S. Army Lieutenant General Paul E. Funk, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve and Major General James B. Jarrard, commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, as they fly in a helicopter over Syria July 11, 2018. Picture taken July 11, 2018. U.S. Army/Sgt. Brigitte Morgan/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGES WAS PROVIDE

Congress slams Trump on Syria pullout

President Donald Trump wants to immediately begin withdrawing US troops from Syria, but Iran hawks in Congress aren’t having it.

U.S. forces set up a new base in Manbij, Syria May 8, 2018. Picture Taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1504520BB0

US to withdraw from Syria, leaving Kurdish allies to face Turkish offensive alone

President Donald Trump tweeted that the war against Islamic State is over and his administration has confirmed American soldiers would leave Syria immediately, a significant diplomatic win for Turkey that follows US approval of a major weapons deal with Ankara.

A general view shows Turkish flags fluttering at a military post in the village of Ashma in the Kurdish region of Kobane in northern Syria on November 8, 2018. - In recent days, cross-border Turkish artillery fire has targeted positions held by the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish militia in Syria. Ankara sees the de-facto autonomous rule set up by Syrian Kurds as an encouragement to the separatists of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has close ties to the YPG. (Photo

US official speaks out against possible Turkish offensive in Syria

After Iraqi Kurdistan-backed Rojava Peshmerga are sent to the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkish officials inveigh against the action and what it represents.

Syrian Democratic Forces and U.S. troops are seen during a patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1A340091B0

FSA sends troops for Turkey's planned Syria operation

Free Syrian Army factions have already started to send fighters to the Syrian-Turkish border in support of Turkey's expected operation against Syrian Kurdish forces there.

Syrian writer gives voice to victims of war

Betul Abras, who has fled from the Syrian war herself in 2013, has been helping other victims of war to heal for the last five and a half years.