Syria - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palmyra

Syria

September 22, 2025

Damascus 3:07 pm

31°C

Israeli troops patrol the border fence with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, July 23, 2025.

Analysis

Seeking leeway on Gaza, Netanyahu backs Trump’s Syria pact push

The US is working intensively to arrange a historic meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Syrian President Sharaa on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

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

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Analysis

From Palestine push to Sharaa’s UN debut: What to watch at UN summit

The annual international get-together will feature a wave of Palestinian statehood recognition, the Syrian president’s United Nations debut and possible 11th-hour diplomacy with Iran.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Otto Pedersen addresses a press conference in Damascus on Jan. 22, 2025.

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen steps down after six years

Pedersen is leaving as Syria continues to grapple with political upheaval, humanitarian crises and ongoing conflict.

UMIT BEKTAS/AFP via Getty Images

In first visit in 25 years, Syrian FM pushes sanctions relief in Washington

Asaad al-Shibani’s visit to Washington comes as Syria seeks sanctions relief and engages in US-mediated talks with Israel on a security agreement.

Latest News

Turkey’s spy chief in Damascus as Israel, Syria weigh new security map

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022.

Syria, Jordan, US unveil road map to stabilize Suwayda after clashes: What to know

Bedouin and tribal fighters deploy at the western entrance of Syria's Druze heartland of Suwayda on July 18, 2025.

Syria holds first post‑Assad parliamentary vote: What to know

Interim Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa appears in the Citadel of Aleppo in Syria, on May 27, 2025.

Top US general discusses SDF integration with Sharaa in Damascus

CENTCOM

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

Syria badminton

Syrian women and girls in Aleppo find new outlet in sports

Many young women in Afrin, northern Aleppo, which is controlled by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) are showing great interest in sports, as opposing social customs and traditions begin to fade.

Bishop Ephraim Maalouli (R) speaks at a ceremony, after he was appointed as the new metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox archieparchy of Aleppo and Alexandretta, at Saint Elias Cathedral, Aleppo, Syria, Dec. 10, 2021.

Syrian government loosens travel restrictions on Christian clergy

The Syrian government has waived border fees for Christian church leaders entering the country.

A member of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham holds the group's flag as others parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" through the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria, Aug. 20, 2021.

Syrian jihadi group sees wave of defections in Idlib

Schisms within Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are widening as its leader shifts to convey a moderate image and eliminate more radical rival groups.

A Syrian man holds the Iranian flag as a convoy carrying aid provided by Iran arrives in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, Sept. 20, 2017.

Iran expands economic reach into oil-rich region of Syria

Iran exports to Syria are increasing, a sign of an improving economic relation between the two countries.

Meeks

Intel: Final defense bill gives Congress more oversight of US Syria policy

Lawmakers are grabbing the reins on the Biden administration’s dormant approach to Syria’s conflict.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, at the Pentagon on Sept. 3, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia.

UK warplane shoots down 'hostile' drone near US base in Syria

The latest drone incursion comes as indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran are on thin ice.

Israel Syria

Israel focused on Syria as well as Iran

A report by the Washington Post has attributed two attacks to Israel in the past year and a half against Syrian military facilities linked to its past chemical weapons program.

Syrians cook bread inside a school turned into a shelter for people displaced by the war, in the rebel-controlled town of Hamouria, in the eastern Ghouta region, Syria, Dec. 23, 2017.

Syrians resort to ancient bread-making methods in Idlib's food crisis

Displaced Syrians in Idlib are replacing bakery bread with handmade bread, turning to traditional methods during the area's food shortage.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: Egypt seeks US sanctions assurance in gas plan for Lebanon

Egypt's minister of petroleum and mineral resources says his government needs a guarantee from Washington that Cairo's involvement in the Arab Gas Pipeline project will be exempt from US sanctions on Syria.

Syrian migrant Masour Nassar, 42, from Aleppo, applied for asylum in Poland.

Would-be Syrian refugees flown back from Belarus despite visas

Belarus has given Syrians two options: cross the border into Poland or be deported.

This picture taken on Dec. 7, 2021, shows an aerial view of US Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV) during a joint military exercise.

Pentagon: Four Islamic State fighters killed in nighttime Syria raid

Conflicting accounts of the raid emerged amid renewed scrutiny of the Pentagon's oversight of civilian casualties in Syria.

MAXIME POPOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russian movie praises Moscow's war efforts in Syria

The Russian movie "Sky" tells the story of a pilot killed after a Turkish jet shot down his bomber over northern Syria.