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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

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Qatar's Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah (L) before the opening session of the Syrian Donors Conference at Bayan Palace in Kuwait City January 15, 2014. Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah promised $500 million on Wednesday for U.N. humanitarian efforts in Syria, devastated by almost three years of civil war. The emir made the pledge at an international donor conference intended to help the world body reach a $6.5 billion aid target for the crisis in

Qatar's foreign minister: Iran has 'crucial role' in Syria

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah calls for a unified Syrian opposition and describes the plight of the Syrian people as "unprecedented."

A man on his bicycle passes near the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, January 14, 2014. Four car bombs killed at least 25 people in Shi'ite Muslim districts of Baghdad on Monday, police said, in violence that coincided with a visit to the Iraqi capital by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Although no group claimed responsibility, the bombings appeared to be part of a relentless campaign by al Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim militants to undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government. REUT

Nonsectarian citizens isolated in Iraq

Amid increased sectarian tensions, those Iraqis who choose not to side with one sectarian group have found themselves targeted by many, including their own communities.

Israeli soldiers look across the border to Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights August 30, 2013. Israel ordered a small-scale mobilisation of reservists on Wednesday and strengthened its missile defences as precautions against possible Syrian attack should Western powers carry out threatened strikes on Syria. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX131QH

Israel recognizes Assad's staying power

Israel shifts its strategic posture, recognizing that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is staying on and that a jihadist alternative would be even worse.

Patriot missile batteries are pictured at their positions near the city of Kahramanmaras, February 23, 2013. Germany's defence minister inspected Patriot missile batteries close to the Syria-Turkey border on Saturday and said they delivered a "clear warning" to Damascus that NATO would not tolerate missiles being fired into Turkey. Thomas de Maiziere and his Dutch counterpart Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert travelled to the Turkish cities of Adana and Kahramanmaras to inspect the batteries provided by their coun

Syria-bound trucks put spotlight on Turkey

Turkish opposition politicians and many in the public are questioning why trucks associated with Turkish intelligence may have been carrying arms to radical groups in Syria.

Palestinian children hold bread as they take part in a rally to show solidarity with Palestinian refugees in Syria's main refugee camp Yarmouk, in Gaza City January 16, 2014. The Arabic words on the bread read: "No to starving Yarmouk" REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17G3P

Gaza expresses solidarity with Syria’s Yarmouk camp

Palestinians in Gaza have organized rallies and donation campaigns for the Palestinians in Syria's Yarmouk refugee camp, which has suffered a months-long siege.

Turkish intelligence service trucks reveal secrets

Did trucks linked to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization facilitate the smuggling of weapons to rebel forces in Syria?

French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius (R) and Ahmad Jarba, leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition, attend a news conference at the French foreign ministry during a "Friends of Syria" meeting ahead of Geneva II peace talks, in Paris, January 12, 2014. The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, urged opposition groups on Sunday to attend this month's peace talks, saying there was no alternative for a political so

Will Geneva II go the way of Vietnam peace talks?

The Geneva negotiations have yet to resolve many differences in form or substance between the government and opposition delegations.

Russia, Iran set stage for Geneva II; Turkey’s slow turnaround on Syria

Russian and Iranian diplomacy have helped shape the Geneva II agenda to include a cease-fire, humanitarian relief and counterterrorism in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) passes Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFG

Russia plays the Iran card

Moscow believes that Iran's role in the Middle East will only become more prominent in the future, prompting it to further boost relations at the expense of US regional influence.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) helps Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to stand during a news conference in Ankara November 1, 2013. Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria's civil war, signalling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict. Davutoglu expressed his appreciation to Zarif at the start of the news conference for travelling to Turkey despite suffering from b

Turkey shifts toward Iran on Syria

Turkey is resetting its relations with Iran, including over Syria.

Syrian Kurds practise reading the Kurdish language at a school in Derik, Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they live autonomously

Syrian government introduces Kurdish in universities

The Syrian regime has offered another carrot to the Kurdish minority: the Kurdish language as a university course.

US Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns listens during a press conference at the US Department of the Treasury July 11, 2013 in Washington, DC. Officials from the United States and China are meeting to discus the two world powers' relationships during the 5th United States and China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Burns to Al-Monitor: 'No illusions' about nuclear diplomacy with Iran

In an exclusive interview, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discusses leading the US back channel to Iran, the upcoming Geneva II conference on Syria, the role of secret diplomacy and 32 years in the US foreign service.