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Syria

December 24, 2025

Damascus 12:01 pm

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani addresses delegates during a day of dialogue with Syrian civil society on Nov. 15, 2025.

Syria's Shibani talks defense, economic ties with Russia's Putin during Moscow visit

The visit is the second to Russia for Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani and Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Murhaf Abu Qasra, and follows other signs of rapprochement.

GREGOR FISCHER/AFP via Getty Images

Germany makes first deportation to Syria since 2011: What to know

There are roughly 1 million Syrians in Germany, most of whom fled there during the country’s civil war.

Syria's security directorate in al-Bukamal seized SAM-7 missiles being prepared for smuggling into Iraq, on Dec. 22, 2025.

Syria seizes anti-aircraft missiles near Iraqi border: What to know

The Syrian government is stepping up efforts to combat arms smuggling, including in relation to Hezbollah, Kurdish-led forces and ISIS.

Turkish Foreign Ministery Press Service / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey denies internal rifts as top officials in Syria ahead of SDF deadline

Turkey’s ruling party denies there are internal rifts over the Syrian Democratic Forces and insists that the Kurdish-led group must disarm.

Latest News

Analysis

Syrians relieved as Caesar sanctions lifted, but recovery may take time

Representatives exit the US Capitol, Washington, DC, Dec. 17, 2025.

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Analysis

After Palmyra attack, Turkey adds pressure for SDF deal with Damascus

A picture taken on March 2, 2017, shows a sign displaying the routes to Palmyra-Deir Ezzor and Damascus-Iraq as Syrian regime fighters advance to retake the ancient city of Palmyra, from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

US bombs ISIS targets in Syria in retaliation for Palmyra insider attack

A destroyed Syrian army battle tank lies abandoned near the ancient ruins of Palmyra in central Syria on Feb. 7, 2025.

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

A convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid is seen parked after crossing the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, on July 10, 2023.

Breaking | Last Updated: July 12, 2023, 5:33 pm

UN fails to extend Syria cross-border aid mission after Russian veto

Russia killed a compromise resolution that would have kept aid flowing into northwest Syria for another nine months.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (C) and Manchester City's Emirati owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R) attend the UEFA Champions League final football match between Inter Milan and Manchester City at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, on June 10, 2023. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Erdogan revs up diplomacy with focus on Syria, Gulf funds

After the president's reelection, Turkish diplomacy has found a new impetus in cementing ties with the Arab world, driven in part by Ankara’s hopes of attracting Gulf funds to prop up its ailing economy.

A US soldier guides the MQ-9 Reaper drone as it lands at Subic Bay Freeport Zone on April 23, 2023, as part of the US-Philippines joint military exercise 'Balikatan'. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP) (Photo by JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian fighter jets harass US drones over Syria twice in 24 hours

A Russian Su-35 forced two French Rafales to take evasive maneuvers over the Iraq-Syria border on Thursday as the Pentagon warned of increasing harassment.

A convoy transporting humanitarian aid crosses into Syria from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on Jan. 18, 2022.

US, Russia clash over UN's aid lifeline to Syria

Ahead of the vote, UN humanitarian leaders are urging the Security Council to keep open “any and all avenues” to deliver aid to Syrians in need.

Jordanian Foreign Minsiter Ayman Safadi (L) meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on July 4, 2023.

In Turkey visit, Jordan's FM says Ankara, Amman on same page on Syrians

The foreign minister of Jordan, whose country hosted a series of mediation meetings between Damascus and other Arab capitals, traveled to Ankara after meeting with Assad in Syria.

People look at a tank near a circus building in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023.

Pentagon watching closely Wagner’s Mideast posture as questions surround its future

In an excerpt from this week's Security Briefing, Pentagon correspondent Jared Szuba looks at what's next for Wagner's forces in the Middle East and North Africa following the private military company's short-lived mutiny in Russia.

captagon

US outlines strategy to counter Syria's lucrative Captagon trade

The report to lawmakers details US plans to support the counter-narcotics capacity of Syria's neighbors and impose sanctions on the key drug traffickers fueling the regime's operations.

Wagner group

Putin’s Syria policy hangs on amid Russian crackdown on Wagner

Israeli-Saudi normalization linked to Netanyahu White House visit; Israel’s booming arms exports; Turkey-Sweden ties strained ahead of NATO summit; would an 'informal' Iran deal require congressional review?

Prigozhin

What's next for Wagner in Syria, Africa after Putin mutiny?

Yevgeny Prigozhin's mercenary army usually acted as an unofficial extension of Russian foreign policy, but many questions have arisen following last week's aborted revolt.

A child stares at a US soldiers patrolling a village in the countryside of the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province, near the Turkish border, on July 23, 2022. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria, Palestine, Yemen biggest violators of child soldier recruits: UN

The report coincides with renewed Russian airstrikes in Syria’s last rebel stronghold of Idlib in the northwest.

A picture taken on Aug. 2, 2018, shows a man riding a motorcycle past destroyed buildings in the opposition-held southern city of Daraa.

South Syria increasingly unstable even as normalization proceeds with Assad

Economic turmoil and failed attempts at reconciliation over a decade after the beginning of Syria's civil war keep the country on unstable footing.

Trucks move in a United Nations aid convoy en route to Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib on June 23, 2023.

Syria’s rebel-held northwest receives first UN aid convoy since earthquake

UN aid has not entered northwest Syria since the earthquake that hit the region in February left millions suffering in devastating humanitarian conditions.