It is unrealistic to argue that Syria’s socioeconomic recovery will be smooth and swift. There are several reasons and obstacles that point to the premise that there is going to be a long road ahead for Syria as it seeks to implement a meaningful and substantial recovery that will benefit the...

(THE CONVERSATION) When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed credit on April 30, 2023, for killing Islamic State group leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi in Syria, it may not have been simply a straightforward announcement of victory over the leader of a terrorist group....

In a first visit by an Iranian president to the war-ravaged Arab country in 13 years, Ebrahim Raisi led a high-ranking delegation to Syria last week and returned with a bagful of cooperation pacts. Raisi was accompanied by ministers of foreign affairs, petroleum, defense, roads and urban...

Suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed two Iranian military advisers, temporarily put the country’s two largest airports out of service, and raised fears of regional escalation. While Israel has fought a shadow war with Iran in Syria for years, it has intensified...

In the years since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman catapulted to power, it has been hard to find a controversy in the Middle East that doesn't somehow involve the 37-year-old heir to the throne. Now he's pivoting to his next audacious plan: Giving peace a chance. The moves toward...

Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II is poised to enter a new phase in the coming weeks. With no suggestion of a negotiated end to the 13 months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defense minister said last week that a spring counteroffensive could begin as...

The author is the founding director of Atli Global Consulting, and a lecturer at Bogazici University and Koc University. In 3 questions, Altay Atli evaluates the dynamics behind the Saudi economic growth and discusses whether it is sustainable in the long term for Anadolu's Analysis...

The recent deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria which caused billions of dollars in damage has boosted the prospects of Syria’s once widely shunned president return to the Arab fold, but appears unlikely to jump-start large-scale reconstruction in the war-ravaged country. As Syria’s...

RBIL, IRAQI KURDISTAN: Barely two months in and 2023 has already proven an eventful year in the ongoing covert conflict between Israel and Iran. Early on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed five people and damaged several buildings in Syria’s capital Damascus. Two Western intelligence agents...

As Ankara and Damascus edge toward reconciliation, the remnants of Syria’s rebels in the north are concerned that their long-standing Turkish patron will soon abandon them. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has insisted that Ankara will continue to support the opposition. However, it...

 By Ammar Azzouz Once it was the capital of the Syrian Revolution and in all the newspaper headlines. In its neighborhoods and alleyways, the rebels held out against government forces for years. Many buildings were flattened or shot full of holes. In the end, as everyone knows, the...

Much has been written recently about the Turkey-Syria rapprochement, meetings in Moscow, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's own statements on a potential meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  While the word rapprochement might be overused, the real issue facing...

The first high-level meeting between Turkish and Syrian officials in Moscow last week was cordial but no deals have been made, multiple sources told Middle East Eye.  The Turkish and Syrian defence ministers, along with their Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, met on Thursday, elevating...

In its latest terror campaign against Syria, Israel bombed Damascus International Airport last week, killing two Syrians, after having also threatened to bomb Beirut International Airport earlier in the month.   Israel's recent bombing of the Syrian airport, however, is the...

London - Ibrahim Hamidi No one can deny that the economic crisis in Syria is unprecedented. But what are the real reasons for it? Why isn’t Iran helping in resolving it as it had helped the regime throughout the past decade? And will that lead to “political concessions” from Damascus?...

BEIRUT (AP) — After weeks of deadly Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria, Kurdish forces and international players are trying to gauge whether Ankara’s threats of a ground invasion are serious. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly warned of a new land incursion to drive...

PARIS (AP) — Will President Vladimir Putin pull the nuclear trigger? For Kremlin watchers trying to figure out whether the Russian leader’s nuclear threats are just bluffs, there is no more pressing -- or tough -- question. For now, analysts cautiously suggest that the risk of Putin...

Day after day, signs of normalization of ties between Damascus and Ankara are building up. Day by day, Iran’s incursions into Syria are growing. Also, the range of Israeli raids on Iranian and military sites in Syria is expanding with more US involvement in these attacks. However, is there a...

By Leila Al-Shami The scene was fake, a photo of the set of “Home Operation,” a film produced by Jackie Chan and inspired by a Chinese mission to evacuate Chinese and foreign nationals from Yemen in 2015. The apartment buildings were real, but not in Yemen. Filming started last month in...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s long-running power struggle between rival Shiite camps devolved into bloody street violence this week – the culmination of months of simmering tensions and a political vacuum. For 24 hours, loyalists of powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr transformed the country’s...