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Palmyra

Syria

July 18, 2026

Damascus 4:50 am

24°C

Zaid AL-OBEIDI / AFP via Getty Images

Syria seizes arms shipment on Iraq border destined for Hezbollah

The operation comes as part of the Syrian authorities' efforts to curb illicit arms smuggling through its territory, namely intended for Hezbollah.

A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump at White House in Washington, on Nov. 10, 2025.

Syria, US hold first business forum since sanctions relief: What to know

The one-day forum in Damascus was organized by Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and the US-Syria Business Council, which was established in Washington last June to advance trade and investment between the two nations.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron for a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

How Macron seeks to carve out France's role in new Syria

French President Emmanuel Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, showcasing Paris' support for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa while seeking to secure a share of the country's emerging reconstruction market.

Latest News

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

Explainer

French energy, shipping giants explore Syria deals during Macron visit

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.

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 convoy of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters enter the village of Tel Khanzir, after they took control of the area from Islamic State fighters, in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain May 28, 2015. The YPG, supported by U.S.-led air strikes, have been making steady gains this month against Islamic State in the northeast, which is important in the battle against the jihadists due to its location bordering territory held by the group in Iraq. Picture taken May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said

Turkey plays down death toll of Kurdish youths

The steady stream of Turkey's Kurdish youths killed while fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have failed to make the news, further fueling tensions between the Turkish government and its Kurdish population.

US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (L) and US Secretary of State John Kerry wait for the start of a trilateral meeting at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne March 28, 2015. The foreign ministers of France and Germany joined the top U.S. and Iranian diplomats on Saturday to help break an impasse in nuclear negotiations as major powers and Iran closed in on a 2- or 3-page accord that could form the basis of a long-term deal. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool - RTR4V9Q6

Capitol Hill counts down days until Iran nuclear deadline

A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of June 1.

Displaced Sunni women fleeing the violence in Ramadi, carry bags as they walk on the outskirts of Baghdad, May 24, 2015. Iraqi forces recaptured territory from advancing Islamic State militants near the recently-fallen city of Ramadi on Sunday, while in Syria the government said the Islamists had killed hundreds of people since capturing the town of Palmyra. REUTERS/Stringer - RTX1ED8I

Baghdad stumbles in response to Ramadi refugees

180,000 Iraqis now displaced by the Islamic State from Ramadi; Islamic State benefits from Saudi military intervention in Yemen; Jabhat al-Nusra’s attempted makeover.

A member of al Qaeda's Nusra Front burn a Syrian national flag in the town of the northwestern city of Ariha, after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the area in Idlib province May 29, 2015. The Syrian army has pulled back from the northwestern city of Ariha after a coalition of insurgent groups seized the last city in Idlib province in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border that was still held by the government. A coalition of rebel groups called Jaish al Fateh, or Conquest Army, said it had taken

Al-Qaeda theorist calls for infiltrating political systems

Abdullah bin Mohammed, an al-Qaeda theorist, believes jihadists need to adopt a new strategy of attaining legitimacy by rebranding themselves and working from within political systems, an idea that might already have taken root in Syria.

Smoke rises from what activists said was due to shelling by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad on the outskirts of Damascus city in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta May 21, 2015. REUTERS/Diaa Al-Din - RTX1DYKI

Syrian opposition defends eastern Ghouta situation

In an interview, Jaish al-Islam spokesman Capt. Islam Alloush told Al-Monitor that the group is confident its goals will be achieved in besieged eastern Ghouta as it is transforming its "militia into a real army."

Kurdish refugees from the Syrian town of Kobani wait to fill their jerrycans around a clean water source at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province February 1, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4NRVB

Turkey restricts academic research on Syrian refugees

Turkey's Interior Ministry now requires academics to get prior approval before conducting research on the country's 2 million Syrian refugees.

Relatives of Lebanese soldiers, who were captured by Islamist militants in Arsal, carry pictures of two of them during a protest demanding their release and pressuring the government to act, as they blocked a main road linking Tripoli to Halba, in al-Mhmara town, northern Lebanon August 30, 2014. Islamic State militants beheaded a Lebanese soldier who was one of 19 captured by hardline Syrian Islamists when they seized a Lebanese border town for few days this month, a video posted on social media showed on

Lebanon hopes for return of kidnapped soldiers

As Lebanese media outlets report a deal with Jabhat al-Nusra for the release of 16 Lebanese soldiers kidnapped during the battle of Arsal in August, questions remain about support for the terrorist organization in Lebanese territory.

Is Turkey arming radical groups in Syria?

A trial of gendarmerie officers and prosecutors in Istanbul is producing embarrassing revelations for the government.

People stand by part of a Saudi fighter jet found in Bani Harith district north of Yemen's capital Sanaa May 24, 2015. Local media said that the Houthi rebels brought down a Saudi F-16 fighter jet north of Sanaa early on Sunday. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RTX1EAP8

Is Islamic State 'secondary priority' for Saudi Arabia?

Riyadh is preoccupied with the military campaign in Yemen; Velayati tells Lebanese officials there will be no deal on Assad; the Turkish opposition party is under attack ahead of June 7 elections.

Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's top adviser on international affairs, arrives to deliver a news conference after meeting with Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the government palace in Beirut May 18, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir - RTX1DGJ6

Khamenei adviser visits Beirut

During a visit to Beirut, Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, expressed his country’s appreciation to the achievements of Hezbollah in the Qalamoun area, while stressing that Iran will not interfere in internal Lebanese issues.

A Syrian refugee family is seen in front of their house in Ankara November 21, 2014. Syrian refugees across the Middle East, some in exile for a fourth winter, face freezing temperatures, hunger and increasing hostility from locals as governments struggle to cope with the humanitarian crisis. Lebanon and Jordan are tightening their borders to stem the flow of those trying to escape whilst in Turkey, widely praised for hosting around half Syria's estimated 3.2 million refugees, the influx threatens to upset

Attacks on Syrians in Turkey increasing

Increasing numbers of Turks are angered over the social and economic consequence of Turkey hosting some 2 million Syrian refugees.

The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah parliamentary bloc Mohamed Raad speaks during a news conference in Beirut March 4, 2011. Raad spoke out against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which was established in 2007 to prosecute, under Lebanese law, criminal acts relating to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Lebanon. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) - RTR2JFBJ

Senior Hezbollah official speaks out

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc in Lebanon discusses the war in Syria and the party’s role there, the Saudi war against Yemen and the presidential stalemate in Lebanon.