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Syria

June 6, 2025

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Travelers from the Middle East arrive at the International Arrivals section at Los Angeles International Airport on June 29, 2017.

Trump travel ban 2.0: Assessing the impact on Mideast nations

Trump’s new decision excludes Syria and Iraq, both of which were part of his previous ban issued during his first term in 2017.

US special envoy for Syria, the ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a flag-raising ceremony at the US ambassador's residence in Damascus on May 29, 2025 for the first time since 2011. Barrack's visit to Syria marks a new step in the rapprochement between the two countries following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by Rami al SAYED / AFP) (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

US envoy Barrack in Israel after cross-border shelling with Syria: What to know

US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack met Wednesday with Israeli officials in an effort to de-escalate ongoing tensions with Syria and Turkey.

Debris and military vehicles lie at the scene of an Israeli strike in Syria's southern Hama governorate on April 3, 2025.

Israel shells southern Syria, says Sharaa ‘directly responsible’ for threats

Regional players have been mediating talks between Israel and Syria in an effort to reduce tensions amid Israeli strikes on the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani met with Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the Qatari capital, Doha, on June 3, 2025.

Syria courts Gulf investment with high-level Qatar visit amid $7B energy deal

Led by the country’s top diplomat, Syria’s ministers of energy, finance and tourism held a series of meetings in Qatar on Tuesday.

Latest News

Exclusive

Ankara’s direct talks with Syrian Kurds began last year in Europe, continue in Turkey

Kurdish Syrians demonstrate in the Syrian eastern city of Qamishli to demand the release of the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party, Abdullah Ocalan, in Turkey, on May 29, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria to reopen war-damaged border crossing with Lebanon: What we know

A photo taken from the Lebanese side of the northern border crossing of al-Arida shows Syrian rebel fighters assisting with the passage of Syrians back into their country, Dec. 10, 2024.

Exclusive

Syrian Kurds, Damascus agree to prisoner swap following normalization talks

Armed personnel of SDF and public security forces of the new Syrian government stand guard as nearly a hundred prisoners are exchanged between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the new Syrian government in al-Ramun district of Aleppo, Syria, on April 3, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

Turkey's big Syria play: Rebuild, but only if Gulf can pay for it

Aerial view of the amount of destruction left in the Maarat al-Numan neighborhood after the end of the Syrian civil war in Idlib, Syria, on March 13, 2025. Located between the three major cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Damascus, the city of Idlib is a historically and strategically important city that went through years of destruction in the course of the Syrian civil war. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) shakes hands with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) reacts.

US-Syria thaw advances as Rubio meets Shaibani in Turkey: What to know

Top US, Syrian and Turkish diplomats discussed counterterrorism cooperation and regional stability in a landmark Turkey meeting.

People queue outside the main headquarters of the Central Bank of Syria to exchange US dollars at prices lower than the black market, in Damascus on December 30, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Syria’s central bank chief: US sanctions relief a ‘turning point’

Abdulkader Husrieh discusses how sanctions relief could impact Syria’s reintegration into the global financial system.

Abdulkader Husrieh

Abdulkader Husrieh

Syrian central bank governor

An undated image of Foza Yusif.

Exclusive

Syrian Kurdish negotiator Yusuf: No agreement yet with Damascus on Tishreen Dam

President Donald Trump’s meeting with Syria’s interim president has sparked Kurdish fears of being sidelined in future talks.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks adjusts his earpiece during bilateral talks with the US President the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 11, 2023.

Erdogan thanks Trump for ‘historic’ Syria decision during Sharaa meeting

The Turkish president also said his country was ready to support Damascus in the fight against the Islamic State and in maintaining the security of ISIS camps.

audi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L), US President Donald Trump (C) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) pose for a photo in Riyadh on May 14, 2025.

Trump to Syria's Sharaa: Recognize Israel, expel foreign fighters

During their 30-minute meeting in Riyadh, the two leaders also discussed combating the Islamic State and future American investment in Syrian oil and gas.

People celebrate in Damascus' Omeyyad square after US President Donald Trump's decision to lift sanctions in Syria, on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP) (Photo by ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Trump wants to lift all US sanctions on Syria: Can he?

Removing some sanctions on Syria could require congressional action, and one expert warned that rescinding all the measures could decrease the US’ leverage with the new government in Damascus.

Adam Lucente

By Rosaleen Carroll , Adam Lucente

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attend a bilateral meeting between the US President and Saudi Crown Prince in Riyadh on May 13, 2025.

Analysis

A first in 15 years, Rubio to meet Syria’s FM in Turkey: What to know

A landmark meeting in Antalya follows Trump’s surprise decision to lift Syria sanctions, handing Ankara a diplomatic victory.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a “coffee ceremony” at the Saudi Royal Court on May 13, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Trump to lift Syria sanctions, meet with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump said his administration would take steps to normalize relations with Syria’s fledgling government.

Smoke billows near a military hospital in Harasta, northeast Damascus, following Israeli airstrikes across Syria overnight on May 3, 2025.

Jordan, Turkey, Syria FMs slam 'Israeli expansionism' after Ankara meeting

Jordanian, Turkish and Syrian top diplomats have criticized Israeli attacks on Syria.

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, signs the country's constitutional declaration, which will be enforced throughout a five-year transitional period, at the presidential palace in Damascus on March 13, 2025.

Exclusive

Syria's Sharaa pledges to form task force for missing Americans

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised the daughter of a missing American to take action as Damascus seeks relief from crippling US sanctions.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa upon arriving for a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, Paris, May 7, 2025.

Exclusive

Skepticism shrouds Syria-Israel indirect talks with bets on Sharaa

Sources told Al-Monitor that shortly after Sharaa visited the UAE last month, an unofficial meeting between Syrian and Israeli delegations took place at an Abu Dhabi villa owned by an Emirati government official.

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