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Syria

May 10, 2026

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Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A young man stands in the entrance of tunnels that were used by the ISIS and the Assad's regime for fighting. Tadamon, Syria, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Raghed Waked / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by RAGHED WAKED/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria arrests Amjad Youssef, Tadamoun massacre perpetrator: What to know

Amjad Youssef appeared on video, allegedly killing dozens of civilians in 2013; he is the latest member of the Assad regime to be captured by the new Syrian government.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives ahead of a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in central London on March 31, 2026.

Syria’s Sharaa makes fourth visit to Saudi Arabia, first since Iran war: What to know

The visit comes in light of the deepening economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia post-Assad.

Latest News

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

EU to restore Syria cooperation pact ahead of May talks: What to know

Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

Sharaa distances Syria from Iran war, says Israel talks ongoing: What to know

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish Presient Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Kurdish female fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPJ) are seen in training at a military camp in Malikiya, Hassaka province December 9, 2013. Picture taken December 9, 2013. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX17Q2P

Syrian Kurds recruit regime loyalists to fight jihadists

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) has reportedly established Arab brigades made up of regime loyalists.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri (R) shakes hands with Lebanese Christian leader and head of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun during the eighth session of the national dialogue between political leaders at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, near Beirut March 9, 2010. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - RTR2BEYN

Lebanon government talks stall again

Developments at the Geneva II conference and in the Western-Iranian nuclear talks may have stalled Lebanon’s government formation

Masked Sunni Muslim gunmen patrol in the city of Falluja, 70 km (44 miles) west of Baghdad, February 8, 2014. ISIL militants and other Sunni groups angered by the Shi'ite-led government overran Falluja and parts of the nearby city of Ramadi in the western province of Anbar on Jan. 1. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX18FGA

ISIS, al-Qaeda compete for supremacy in global jihad

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has emerged as a major challenger to al-Qaeda as the leading brand in the global militant jihad movement.

Smoke rises after shells exploded in the Syrian village of al-Jamlah, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights March 5, 2013. In response to the explosion in the Syrian village on Tuesday the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that they are carefully tracking events that take place in Syria and are prepared for any eventuality. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3ELP3

Israeli security chiefs modify assessment on Syrian war

The Israel Defense Forces estimate that the Syrian war may last a decade, ending with Syria being divided into several cantons, with jihadist forces on the Israeli border and Hezbollah gaining in military experience.

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.