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Syria

May 19, 2026

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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

Latest News

Lebanon authorities release Salafist cleric Khaled Hablas: What to know

Khaled Hablas

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.

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

Syrian Muslim Brotherhood secretary-general Ali Saad-al-din Bayanouni (L) and former Syrian Vice-President Abdel-Halim Khaddam hold a news conference in Brussels March 17, 2006. Exiled Syrian opposition leaders announced the creation of a united front on Friday aimed at forming a transitional government to bring about "regime change" from President Bashar al-Assad to democracy. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTR17B3V

Syria Brotherhood Leader: US Position on Syria 'Negative'

In an exclusive interview, senior Syrian Muslim Brotherhood leader Ali al-Bayanouni says, "There is no room for a political solution" with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Free Syrian Army fighters and residents gather around a convoy of U.N. vehicles carrying a team of United Nations chemical weapons experts at one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus' suburbs of Zamalka August 28, 2013. U.N. chemical weapons experts investigating the apparent gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in rebel-held suburbs of Damascus made a second trip across the front line to take samples. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST

Eight Reasons Why US, Iran Must Manage Syria Crisis

A volatile Middle East makes it even more urgent that the US and Iran work together through the UN Security Council to resolve their disputes over Iran’s nuclear program and Syria.

SONY DSC

Syrian Heavy Metal Bands Rock On During War

With the situation in Syria deteriorating daily, Syria’s rock and heavy metal artists continue to make music despite pressure from more than just their government.

Members of the Free Syrian Army gather as gunfire is heard between them and the armed Kurds of The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, November 25, 2012. Iran said Turkey's plans to deploy Patriot defensive missiles near its border with Syria would add to the region's problems, as fears grow of the Syrian civil war spilling across frontiers. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3AV5G

Kurdish Jihadists Fight Kurds in Syria

Some young Iraqi Kurdish men are being lured by al-Qaeda's call for jihad in Syria, even if it puts them into combat with their Kurdish brethren.

An Israeli Postal Service employee shows a man how to adjust a gas mask at a distribution point at a shopping mall in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem August 26, 2013. Thousands of Israelis lined up for gas masks at nationwide distribution centers or phoned in orders fearing a deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria may wind up ensnaring their own nation in conflict, officials and analysts said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) -

Israel Must Take Clear Stand on Syria

An operation against Syria carries the potential for escalation that could lead to Armageddon, yet the United States must make it clear: Using weapons of mass destruction is not an option.

An Israeli soldier inspects a building after it was destroyed during an Iraqi Scud missile attack last night January 26, 1991. At least one person was killed and 69 wounded. Reuters/Ulli Michel /landov BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - RTR2P2QB

Israel Should Be Part Of Coalition Against Syria

Israel has a moral obligation to be part of the international coalition being formed against the Assad regime, both as a concerned neighbor and as part of the international community.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speak during a joint news conference after their meeting in Moscow, May 7, 2013. The U.S. secretary of state sought Russian help in ending Syria's civil war on Tuesday, telling President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that common interest in a stable Middle East could bridge divisions among the big powers. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXZE2I

US-Russia Diplomacy Could Be Casualty of Attack on Syria

A US attack on Syria may undermine the prospects for a Geneva II peace conference and worsen already strained ties between Washington and Moscow.

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani (L) and Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said (C-R) review the honour guard during the latter's welcoming ceremony at Tehran's Saadabad Palace on August 25, 2013. The Iranian authorities have announced that Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the only Gulf leader to maintain good relations with Tehran, arrived in Iran for a focus on economic issues and diplomacy visit. AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI (Photo credit should read BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Sultan Qaboos, UN's Feltman Test Diplomacy with Iran

Sultan Qaboos of Oman and UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman create diplomatic flurry in Tehran.

Members of the Free Syrian Army react as they fire a home-made rocket towards forces loyal to the Syrian regime in Deir al-Zor, June 16, 2013. Picture taken June 16, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTX10QLQ

US Attack on Syria Will Achieve Nothing

US attack on Syria will backfire on the Obama administration and Israel, awaken nationalism within the Syrian people and strengthen President Bashar al-Assad.

Israeli mounted policemen guard as Israeli-Arab protesters wave Palestinian flags during a demonstration to show their solidarity with Bedouin citizens, in the Israeli-Arab town of Umm el-Fahm August 1, 2013. Hundreds demonstrated on Thursday against an Israeli cabinet plan to relocate some 30,000 Bedouin citizens who live in unrecognized villages in Israel's southern Negev desert and relocate them to towns built by the government. Clashes erupted at the demonstration as police prevented the protesters from

Syria's Tragedy IsA Warning to Israel

There are lessons for Israel in the Syria war.

A boy who survived from what activists say is a gas attack cries as he takes shelter inside a mosque in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus August 21, 2013. Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a gas attack that killed nearly 500 people on Wednesday, in what would, if confirmed, be by far the worst reported use of chemical arms in the two-year-old civil war. The Syrian armed forces strongly denied using chemical weapons. Syrian state television said the accusations were fa

Reports of Syria Chemical Attack Split Iraqis

The alleged chemical attack in Syria has revealed a sectarian rift in Iraq, with some Sunnis accusing Syria’s Alawite regime, while some Shiites blame the massacre on the opposition.

The burnt interior of Kevork Church is pictured after clashes between Free Syrian Army fighters and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the al-Midan area in Aleppo October 30, 2012. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR39RY3

Aleppo Christians Fear Iraq-Style Ethnic Cleansing

Many Christians in Aleppo are fleeing, while others are taking up arms alongside the regime to defend their way of life.