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Syria

May 17, 2026

Damascus 11:42 am

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in Syria

UAE-Syrian ties have moved faster than expected, with Abu Dhabi embracing President Ahmad al-Sharaa and relations shifting from normalization to investment opportunities.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A Syrian citizen exchanges old banknotes for new notes released and distributed by the central bank, at a bank in the capital, Damascus, on Jan. 3, 2026.

Interview

UK fintech brings foreign currency accounts to Syrians at home

The launch comes as Syria’s new government attempts to stabilize the country’s shattered economy following the January 2025 rise to power of President Ahmed al-Sharaa after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Khaled Hablas

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Hablas was imprisoned for his role in the deadly 2014 clashes with the military and Hezbollah and his release follows Syria lobbying for the return of militants detained in Lebanon.

Latest News

Syria restores Raqqa oil field in former ISIS stronghold: What to know

Pictured in this undated image is the Al-Thawra oil field in Raqqa governorate, as rehabilitation works continue to restore production capacity.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

EU restores economic pact to pursue fuller trade ties with Syria

Kaja Kallas

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

An image grab from a video uploaded on YouTube shows Syrian army tanks in the city of Yabrud, 80 km north of Damascus on March 8, 2012.
== RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / YOUTUBE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - AFP IS USING PICTURES FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES AS IT WAS NOT AUTHORISED TO COVER THIS EVENT, THEREFORE IT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE

Syria sends diplomats to Geneva, fighters to Yabrud

The fighting may intensify around Yabrud as the second round of negotiations in Geneva commence.

Friends and family members of victims killed in a car bomb attack on Saturday, hold a wreath along with their pictures during a funeral in the Shi'ite town of Hermel February 3, 2014. A suicide car bomber killed three people at a petrol station in a stronghold of the Shi'ite militant Hezbollah movement on Lebanon's northern border on Saturday, the latest sign that Syria's civil war is spilling over into its small neighbour. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is pictured on the left in the banner in fr

Have bombings united the Lebanese Shiites behind Hezbollah?

Although many suspect the recent bombings in Lebanon are aimed at breaking Shiite support for Hezbollah, they may be having the opposite effect.

Neutrality, reform needed to rescue Lebanon’s economy

Lebanon’s economy is collapsing and the only thing that can save it is a new government that keeps Lebanon neutral in the Syrian war and implements economic and administrative reforms.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and its enemies came face to face for the first time on Wednesday at a one-day peace conference in Switzerland which world powers hope can at least start a process to end three years of civil war. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PEH

Russia's Syria policy gains traction

As Russia maintains a steady course on Syria, Moscow's influence on Damascus may be less than some believe.

The beginnings of an Israel-Iran reset?

Israel may be reassessing the Iranian threat, as Iran shows its reach in Palestinian politics.

Firefighters extinguish a fire from burning cars at the site of an explosion in the Haret Hreik area, in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut January 21, 2014. A suicide bomber killed four people on Tuesday in the residential neighbourhood of southern Beirut known for its support of Shi'ite military and political group Hezbollah, security sources said. REUTERS/Stringer (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17NZH

Lebanon has historic chance to regain neutrality

The conflict between the Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon is an opportunity for Christians to revive the Baabda Declaration, which calls for Lebanon’s neutrality, a historic Christian principle.

Members of the interim government of democratic self-administered party stand after declaring a provincial government, in the city of Amuda near Hasaka January 21, 2014. Kurds in Syria declared a provincial government in the north of the country on Tuesday, consolidating their geographic and political presence on the eve of peace talks in Switzerland at which they will not be represented. The municipal council will run affairs in one of three administrative districts set up by Kurds, who have seized upon t

Relations among Syrian Kurdish parties hit new low

The Kurdistan National Council (KNC) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) are in dispute over power-sharing arrangements.

Civilians and members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) gesture and raise flags atop a tank that belonged to fighters from the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), in al-Manajeer village of Ras al-Ain countryside January 28, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX17YNR

Syrian Kurds courting Turkmens

Security and the future role of Syrian Turkmens depend on alliance with Kurds.

Fighters of al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carry their weapons during a parade at the Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the border with Turkey January 2, 2014. Picture taken January 2, 2014. REUTERS/Yaser Al-Khodor (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX170U3

ISIS leader al-Baghdadi proves formidable enemy

Contrary to his predecessors, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has proven to be more pragmatic and devious.

A vendor pours tomatoes out to display while waiting for customers at a greengrocer's shop in Baghdad January 16, 2014. The day after one of Iraq's bloodiest days for months, shoppers and drivers packed the streets of Baghdad on Thursday, grimly aware that death can strike anywhere, any time. At least eight bombs hit the capital, mostly in Shi'ite districts, on Wednesday, killing 40 people and wounding 88, while attacks elsewhere pushed the national death toll to 78. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: SOCIETY

Iraqi vendors diversify supplies in response to Syria, Anbar conflicts

Military operations launched in the Anbar province, located along the Syrian border, have disrupted the import of goods from Syria, leading Iraqi vendors to turn to other states to import goods.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem (C) addresses a news conference at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva January 31, 2014. A first round of talks to end the war in Syria have had no tangible results because of the immaturity of the opposition delegation and their "threats to implode" the talks, as well as blatant U.S. interference, al-Moualem said on Friday. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTX182CD

Geneva II not the only game in town on Syria

The real negotiations, including among Syrian parties and their backers, are taking place away from the media.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is pictured at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 29, 2013. The hearing was on the potential changes to the foreign intelligence surveillance act (FISA). REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX14SXL

The Syria disconnect in US terrorism policy

The US national intelligence director, James Clapper, foresees a rise in "political uncertainty and violence" in the Middle East in 2014.