Syria

Trump consolidates Middle East policy by appointing Special Envoy Barrack to Iraq, Syria - analysis

US Envoy Tom Barrack has played a key role in US policy in the Middle East over the past year. He was appointed Special Envoy to Syria last year. He is also the US Ambassador to Turkey.

 US ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2025.

Trump, Sharaa hold phone call, discuss lifting sanctions, importance of 'prioritizing diplomacy'

 A PRO-PALESTINIAN protest takes place in Chicago on October 8, 2023.

How Palestinianism wages war on Zionism and Jewish history - opinion

US SPECIAL ENVOY for Syria Tom Barrack speaks at a news conference in Damascus in September 2025.

Tom Barrack leaves Syria envoy role after steering post-Assad outreach


After years-long drought where Syria, Iraq were running out of water, dams are now full - analysis

Now, Syria is saying water levels have stabilized. Nevertheless, the flooding and the change in water flows show that the region is not on a one-way street to drought.

Fishermen ride in their boat through the Iraqi Hawizeh Marsh in Maysan province, southern Iraq, after water returned due to rainfall following a long period of drought on April 26, 2026.

New Syrian chemical weapons find could help prosecute perpetrators of war crimes, experts say

Syrian Authorities have detained 18 individuals suspected of involvement in operating and managing the Assad regime’s chemical weapons program.

A drawing exhibition by a group of young men and women depicting various scenes related to the chemical attack, during an event commemorating the 12th anniversary of the attack on August 21, 2025 in Moadamiyat Al-Sham, Syria.

‘Rebuilding a country the size of Syria means contracts worth billions of dollars,’ expert says

Renewed attention to reconstruction opportunities is colliding with unresolved sanctions exposure, weak institutions, damaged infrastructure, and uncertainty over Syria’s political future

Syrians gather to mark the anniversary of the 2011 uprising against the ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria March 15, 2026.

Could Trump’s push for Abraham Accords undermine long-term peace? - analysis

Trump is increasing pressure on Gulf countries to join the Abraham Accords, but experts warn that forcing states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar could backfire.

US President Donald Trump raises a fist as he departs after delivering a speech about the economy at Rockland Community College Fieldhouse in Suffern, New York, on May 22, 2026.

Australian woman charged with joining Islamic State after returning from Syrian refugee camp

The 34-year-old traveled to Syria between 2013 and 2014 with others, including a man, to allegedly join the Islamic State, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement.

Members of Australian families believed to be linked to the Islamic State militants wait to leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria April 24, 2026.

Syria establishes task force to find and destroy last 'Assad-era chemical weapons'

In a separate report by the AFP in Arab News, it was reported on Wednesday that “dozens of undeclared chemical weapons have been found in Syria."

Ghouta residents commemorate the 12th anniversary of the chemical attack on August 21, 2025 in Zamalka, Syria. On 21 August 2013 President Bashar al-Assad ordered strikes on two opposition-controlled areas of Ghouta, in the suburbs around Damascus.

Syrian officials find remnants of chemical weapons program from Assad regime era - report

The country’s government had “located remnants of former Syrian ‌president Bashar al-Assad's clandestine chemical weapons program, including raw materials and munitions."

Chemical weapons disposal [file]

Second group of Australian women linked to Islamic State to return home

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government was not assisting their travel and that any who have committed crimes "can expect to face the full force of the law."

A group of supporters surround an Islamic State-linked family, as they arrive at Melbourne international airport, in Melbourne, Australia, May 7, 2026.

Syria’s limited Kurdish election exposes limits of Damascus’s democratic transition - analysis

Syria had already held types of limited elections in other areas of Syria last year. However, areas outside government control did not hold a vote.

Children hold signs on the day Syrian Kurds demonstrate to mark Kurdish Language Day, demanding constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language by the Syrian government, in Qamishli, Syria, May 14, 2026.

Last of Australian ISIS linked families leave Syrian camps

Seven Australian women and 14 children recently arrived in Damascus from the Roj camp in northeast Syria, marking the departure of the last known Australian group from camps for ISIS-linked families.

Members of Australian families believed to be linked to the Islamic State militants wait to leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria April 24, 2026.