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Palmyra

Syria

April 11, 2026

Damascus 7:17 am

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This handout photograph provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2025.

Analysis

How the Iran war can help Syria manage Turkey and its regional rivals

Rising regional tensions and disrupted oil flows are giving Damascus leverage to balance Ankara and other neighbors while exploring alternative energy corridors.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A member of the Popular Mobilization Forces patrols along a concrete wall at the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syria reopens key crossing after 11 years, aiding Iraq's oil exports amid war

Iraq and Syria have shown a desire to cooperate on oil exports, and the matter has become more urgent due to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Sharaa, King Charles

In UK visit, Syria’s Sharaa doubles down on Western ties amid Iran war, refugee pressures

After talks with UK leaders on Tuesday, Syria's president said the country would remain neutral in the Iran conflict unless it was targeted.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa depart after speaking to the media following talks at the Chancellery on March 30, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.

Analysis

Why Germany may struggle to meet Merz’s 80% Syria repatriation goal

Germany, which hosts the EU’s largest Syrian refugee population, is pushing to repatriate Syrians, but Syria’s domestic issues and legal protections for asylum seekers complicate those efforts.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Latest News

Syria sustains drone attack from Iraq, tackles smuggling tunnels on Lebanon border

Members of the Popular Mobilization Units stand guard along the Iraqi-Syrian border in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq, on Jan. 23, 2026.

Syrian authorities restrict alcohol sales in Damascus: What to know

People drink and chat in a bar in the old town in Damascus on June 19, 2025 in Damascus, Syria.

Top Kurdish critic of Damascus named Syria's deputy defense minister

Sipan Hemo

Syria’s Sharaa blasts Iran’s 'destabilizing' role, moves closer to US, Gulf

A boy walks past an unexploded missile that landed in an open field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, on March 5, 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

Syrian children fight over goods taken from a truck that rebels captured at Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, near Aleppo, Syria, July 20, 2012.

Warnings increase amid fears of closing last aid lifeline in Syria

International and UN organizations press for maintaining the flow of humanitarian aid to northwest Syria through Bab al-Hawa crossing, in light of fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in case the mandate for cross-border aid was not renewed.

April's Pink Super Moon rises behind a fighter of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army in the rebel-held countryside of Idlib province, Syria, April 28, 2021.

Turkish-backed opposition seeks unified security forces in north Syria

The Turkish-backed opposition is trying to benefit from the experience of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in establishing a new security apparatus to pursue terrorist cells in the areas under its control in north Syria.

This picture shows a view of the Great Colonnade at the Greco-Roman ruins of the ancient city of Apamea, close to the town of Qalaat al-Madiq, after it was taken by government forces, Syria, May 17, 2019.

Russia presses soft power in Syria by restoring Palmyra, Apamea

Russia is promoting its archaeological and historical restoration projects in Syria, as it tries to expand its influence in Syria by dominating the Syrian antiquities sector.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

NGOs make case for keeping UN border crossing into Syria open

The situation in northwest Syria is so nightmarish that some families are abandoning newborns in the streets, according to a humanitarian organization working there.

Nasr al-Hariri

Turkey promotes tribal role in Syrian opposition institutions

The Syrian opposition is divided over activating the role of tribes in the coalition, as some believe this would be in favor of figures close to Turkey and would help it dominate the opposition institutions.

Syrians attend the screening of the Oscar-nominated film "Last Men in Aleppo" at the University of Idlib in the country's rebel-held province, Idlib, Syria, Feb. 12, 2018.

Syria's Idlib University bans mixed-gender online groups

Idlib University, managed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s government in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, issued a decision banning mixed-gender groups on social media, causing uproar and division among students.

Russian army soldiers patrol the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on May 5, 2016.

Russia gains foothold in Syria’s Palmyra through archaeological restoration

Russia has begun a project to rehabilitate Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra in its latest efforts to gain a foothold in the country’s vital sectors.

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

Biden administration not trading Syrian oil for aid corridors with Moscow

The Biden administration said Syrian oil is for the people of Syria, not for the United States.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Islamic State revives religious police in northeast Syria

The Islamic State's religious police are back at work in the areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria.

idlib museum

Uzbek jihadis destroy antiquities in Idlib Museum

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham tries to manage the even more radical groups under its rule.

Opposition fighters belonging to Ansar al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham walk on a street next to the frontline that divides rebel and regime-controlled areas in the Tadamon neighborhood, south of Damascus, and near the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, Syria, June 15, 2015.

Does Kurdish jihadist group threaten Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in north Syria?

Ansar al-Islam is a Kurdish Salafist and jihadist group operating in the Kurdistan mountains in northern Iraq all the way to Latakia in Syria, fighting against the Syrian government.

OLIVIER MATTHYS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey wild card in US-Russia conflict over Syria aid

The US administration might be open to a position shift on the Syrian file to secure the flow of cross-border international aid to Syria, a prospect that may spoil Turkey's calculations in Syria and particularly in Idlib.