With its decades-old US alliance strained over the Syria war and a nuclear deal with Iran, Saudi Arabia is calling on the Gulf monarchies to unite for their own self-defence. US Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel has assured Gulf states that the agreement struck between major powers and...
The head of the Syrian National Coalition opposition group said on Sunday a thaw in relations between Washington and Tehran could strengthen President Bashar al-Assad's hand in Syria's civil war. Ahmed Jarba said a disbursement of Iranian funds frozen in overseas bank accounts as part...

The al Qaeda-affiliated groups in Syria have started working with crime syndicates and racketeering thugs for kidnappings, arms-smuggling, and widespread looting. Syria’s insurgent militias are becoming ever more enmeshed with organized crime, blurring the line...