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September 23, 2025

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City on Sept. 22, 2025.

In UN spotlight, Syria’s Sharaa meets Rubio in New York

Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to become the first Syrian president since 1967 to address the annual United Nations summit.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets in New York City with a delegation from the Syrian community in the United States, Sept. 22, 2025.

Sharaa’s New York blitz: Syria seeks economic revival in first UN visit in 58 years

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is in New York on a landmark visit during which he will address the UN General Assembly as he seeks to break Syria’s isolation.

Israeli troops patrol the border fence with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, July 23, 2025.

Analysis

Seeking leeway on Gaza, Netanyahu backs Trump’s Syria pact push

The US is working intensively to arrange a historic meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Syrian President Sharaa on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Analysis

From Palestine push to Sharaa’s UN debut: What to watch at UN summit

The annual international get-together will feature a wave of Palestinian statehood recognition, the Syrian president’s United Nations debut and possible 11th-hour diplomacy with Iran.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen steps down after six years

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Otto Pedersen addresses a press conference in Damascus on Jan. 22, 2025.

In first visit in 25 years, Syrian FM pushes sanctions relief in Washington

UMIT BEKTAS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s spy chief in Damascus as Israel, Syria weigh new security map

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022.

Syria, Jordan, US unveil road map to stabilize Suwayda after clashes: What to know

Bedouin and tribal fighters deploy at the western entrance of Syria's Druze heartland of Suwayda on July 18, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Pentagon 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 Tourism Minister Mohammed Rami Martini (C) attends a tourism conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on May 26, 2021, despite tense relations between the two countries.

The slow, uncertain pace of Saudi-Syrian rapprochement

Even if the two sides eventually normalize ties, Damascus faces an uphill struggle to return to the Arab League.

FSA patrol in Jarablus

Islamic State cells terrorize civilians in northwest Syria

Islamic State cells in the areas under the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army in the countryside of Aleppo have escalated operations following the killing of a senior IS official and his colleague during a raid on their hideout in the city of al-Bab.

A special forces mission personnel affiliated with the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation shows his skills during a graduation ceremony, al-Ghazawiya, near Afrin in the rebel-held northern countryside of Aleppo province, Syria, July 28, 2020.

Turkish-backed Syrian armed groups unify forces

The Syrian National Army affiliated with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army in Aleppo is merging a number of its factions under one group in order to reorganize ranks.

International humanitarian aid trucks cross into Syria's northwestern Idlib province through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, on Sept. 7, 2020.

US cranks up diplomacy with Russia to keep Syria’s last humanitarian aid corridor open

The fate of millions of Syrians hangs in the balance as Russia threatens to shut a crossing vital to humanitarian aid.

A patrol of US military vehicles is seen near the flying yellow flags of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and green flags of its constituent Women's Protection Forces (YPJ) in the town of Tal Tamr in the northeastern Syrian Hasakeh province along the border with Turkey on Feb. 8, 2020.

SDF digs tunnels in northeast Syria in case of Turkish offensive

The Syrian Democratic Forces continue to dig tunnels on the demarcation lines with the Turkey-backed opposition factions in northeast Syria, fearing a military operation.

Biden, Putin

Will Syria come up in Biden-Putin summit?

US pressing to maintain humanitarian corridors into Syria; Erdogan’s issues with US Syria policy; UN envoy refers to Syria’s "tragic irony."

anti-Assad reelection protest in Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham cracks down on Assad supporters in Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham carried out a spate of arrests in several areas under its control in Idlib, targeting pro-Syrian government individuals who supported President Bashar al-Assad in the recent presidential elections, as well as members of the Islamic State.

This picture taken during a guided tour by the Russian forces in Syria shows the cockpit and crew members of an Antonov 72 Russian military aircraft during a flight between Khmeimim air base and Aleppo, Syria, Aug. 16, 2018.

Russia expands Syrian air base to boost regional presence

Russia is working on expanding the Hmeimim air base in Syria to accommodate all types of aircraft.

A man carrying bags of bread walks as a patrol of US military vehicles is seen in the town of Tal Tamr in the northeastern Syrian Hasakeh province along the border with Turkey on Feb. 8, 2020.

Bread crisis looms in Syria amid low wheat production

The bread crisis in Syrian regime areas is expected to become worse in the next few months due to drought and its subsequent impact on wheat crop production.

Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania

Abkhazia president pays show visit with Assad

Russia appears to be trying to maximize gains from countries or entities it has strong influence with such as Abkhazia and Syria.

Syrian refugees carry belongings as they return to Syria after crossing the Jordanian border near the town of Nasib, in the southern province of Daraa, Aug. 29, 2017.

Russia facilitates return of displaced Syrian families

Under the auspices of the Russian forces and their affiliated militias, hundreds of displaced people are returning to their villages in the Lajat region located in the countryside of Daraa governorate to find extensively destroyed houses lacking basic power and water services.

Vehicles carrying internally displaced persons and their belongings drive through the town of Atme near the Turkish border toward the city of Afrin, as people flee advancing Syrian regime forces in Idlib and Aleppo provinces, Syria, Feb. 17, 2020.

Turkish-backed Syrian groups prevent return of displaced

The Turkish-backed opposition refrained from receiving displaced persons from the areas controlled by the Syrian government and opened fire on those who protested.