(CNN)- The Defense Department is prepared to provide the new administration with military options to accelerate the war against ISIS in Syria that could send additional US troops into direct combat, CNN has learned. These options would inherently increase the risk for US troops compared to...

Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis visited Tehran on Tuesday where he met with Iranian First Vice-President Ishaq Jahangiri, the latter said in an official press statement.  Speaking at a joint news conference, Khamis said Syria had stood by Iran during the latter’s eight-year war with...

Syrians in northwestern Idlib cast their ballots on Tuesday for members of the first civilian council to run their city, two years after it was overrun by rebels and extremists. Government forces were expelled from Idlib city in March 2015 by the Army of Conquest, led by the Fateh al-Sham...

Cairo will do all it can to preserve crucial ties with Saudi Arabia, experts say, after an Egyptian court ruled against government plans to transfer control of two islands to Riyadh. Strains between the two Sunni Arab allies have grown in recent months, in particular over Cairo's...