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Syria

July 21, 2026

Damascus 11:57 am

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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 Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighter gestures towards fellow fighters operating a tank during what the FSA said was an offensive to take control of al-Zaalana checkpoint in Wadi al-Deif military camp, which remains under government control, in the southern Idlib countryside July 9, 2014. Free Syrian Army fighters started the al-Jaysh al-Wahad (The One Army) battle against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad over the al-Hamidiyeh and Wadi al-Deif military camps in Idlib, trying to take control of t

Syrian rebels eye capital after gains in south

Syrian rebels continue to make significant inroads in the country’s south as the Syrian government focuses on key battles in Damascus.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), speaks during a news conference about the new political relations between Iran and Egypt after the newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi was sworn in, at the Iranian embassy in Cairo June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SWSY

IS sent warning letters to Middle East embassies

Iran's deputy foreign minister has said that the Islamic State sent letters to embassies warning them not to attack the group and that the United States notified Iran and Syria that its coalition would not target Syrian bases.

Smoke rises after an U.S.-led air strike in the Syrian town of Kobani Ocotber 10, 2014. Islamic State fighters advanced deeper into the Syrian town of Kobani on the Turkish border on Friday, taking almost complete control of an area where the local Kurdish administration is based, a group monitoring the violence reported. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR49OPT

How to defeat Islamic State's war machine

The Islamic State has to be recognized as a lethal and effective war machine at the tactical level.

Rebel fighters take positions during clashes with forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad around Handarat area October 12, 2014. REUTERS/Hosam Katan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR49VUO

Rebels in Aleppo stretched thin between regime, IS

Rebel supply lines to the city of Aleppo are at risk of being cut as the rebels simultaneously fight government forces and the Islamic State in Aleppo’s northern countryside.

Turkish army tanks take position on top of a hill near Mursitpinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 11, 2014. A senior Kurdish militant has threatened Turkey with a new Kurdish revolt if it sticks with its current policy of non-intervention in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobani. Kurdish forces allied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the People's Defence Units (YPG), are fighting against Islamic State insurgents attacking Kobani close to the

Erdogan's Syria policies spark riots in Kurdish cities

Turkey’s Syria policies spark massive protests in Kurdish cities, with at least 30 protesters killed; no relief for Syrians in Homs and Aleppo; Jabhat al-Nusra attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) attends a debate marking the reconvene of the parliament after a summer recess at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara October 1, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR48IO6

Turkey slides into deeper isolation over Syria

Turkey’s Western allies are increasingly frustrated with its attempts to direct the US-led military coalition’s focus from the Islamic State to the Syrian regime, while Russia and Iran are openly opposing Turkey’s attempts to establish a buffer zone.

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Syrian women's group paints for peace

The Syrian Women’s Forum for Peace has launched a new project to paint murals across Syrian cities, in an attempt to spread peace and life in the hearts of Syrians who are suffering from the effects of the war.

A boy fills up a motorbike with diesel along a street in the Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa September 30, 2014. Activists said that the price of the diesel and gasoline has increased since the beginning of the air raids believed to have been carried out by U.S.-led forces against Islamic State (IS) militants. Air strikes believed to have been carried out by U.S.-led forces hit three makeshift oil refineries in Syria's Raqqa province early on Sunday as part of an assault to weaken Islamic State (IS) mil

Syrian price spikes: Aleppo gas increases by 140%

Strikes by the US-led coalition on the Islamic State have targeted oil wells and refineries, causing prices of basic commodities in Syria to skyrocket.

Lebanese army soldiers on their military vehicles enter the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley March 19, 2014. The Lebanese army reopened a road between two towns near the Syrian border on Wednesday to try to calm sectarian rivalry aggravated by the conflict in neighbouring Syria. Shi'ite Muslims from the Bekaa Valley town of al-Labwa, where Hezbollah has strong support, had erected sandbag barriers at the weekend to cut off the Sunni Muslim town of Arsal from the rest of Lebanon. RE

Nusra attacks on Lebanon attempt to 'change rules of game'

Attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra on Hezbollah-controlled positions inside Lebanon represent a troubling development for the Lebanese and possibly the regime in Damascus as well.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin votes in the United Nations Security Council against referring the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court for investigation of possible war crimes at the U.N. headquarters in New York May 22, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3QE4L

How US airstrikes are affecting Moscow's Syria policy

A central goal of Russia's Syria policy is to relegitimize the Syrian regime in the eyes of the United States and its allies in the region, and oblige them to recognize it as an ally in the fight against extremism.

Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, Turkish army tanks take position on the Turkish side of the border, as seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province October 8, 2014. U.S.-led air strikes on Wednesday pushed Islamic State fighters back to the edges of the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani, which they had appeared set to seize after a three-week assault, local officials said. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS TPX I

Kobani is becoming Turkey's war

Turks are fighting on both sides of the Islamic State-YPG battle for Kobani, but increasing numbers of Kurdish fighters, including women, are coming from Turkey to join the battle.

Iran op-ed asks Soleimani to defend Kobani

A conservative Iranian news site has published an op-ed asking Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani to defend the Kurds of Kobani as Iranians in various cities protest to show support.