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Israel military vehicles drive along the border fence with Syria, near the town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, July 17, 2025.

Analysis

'You can’t embark on new war every few days': Israel-US daylight grows over Syria Druze, Sharaa

The Israeli prime minister is being pressed by the Trump administration to avoid escalating the situation in Syria but also by Israeli Druze to protect their brethren there.

By Ben Caspit

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

As Bedouins mobilize, clashes with Druze resume in Syria’s Suwayda: What to know

Despite a ceasefire agreement, fighting involving the government, Bedouin clans and Druze fighters spiraled on Friday.

Syria

Analysis

Trump’s Syria gamble tested by unrest in Suwayda

The recent bloodshed in southern Syria is testing the Trump administration’s policy toward the war-torn country and complicating hopes for its potential normalization with Israel.

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

As Suwayda agreement takes shape, here are key Druze players in Syria

The Syrian Druze community has three prominent religious leaders, as well as a number of armed groups that continue to operate in the area after the civil war.

Syria

Over 10 years after ISIS takeover, Iraq's Mosul Airport reopens: What to know

The airport has been out of operation since the fall of the northern Iraqi city to the Islamic State in 2014.

Iraq

Latest News

Israel’s defense chief to visit Pentagon following Syria, Iran strikes: What to know

Israel

Syria's Sharaa says protecting Druze citizens is 'our priority'

FILE PHOTO: Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he attends the “Aleppo, Key to Victory” celebration marking Syria’s liberation, in Aleppo, Syria May 27, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo

Mediators present updated Gaza ceasefire proposal to Israel and Hamas, Axios reports

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

Analysis

UAE leader visits Turkey, emphasizing shift from rivalry to regional alignment

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed with official ceremony during the latter’s official visit to Ankara, July 16, 2025.

By Ezgi Akin , Rosaleen Carroll

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People hold pictures of victims on the 31st anniversary of the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires

Argentines commemorate Jewish center bombing, demand justice

Agence France-Presse

FILE PHOTO: Members of the M23 rebel group ride on a pickup truck as they leave their position for patrols amid conflict between them and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Congo, M23 rebels to sign declaration of principles to end fighting, sources say

Reuters

Hospital staff said they were overwhelmed by the number of bodies from the fighting

'Mass grave': Medics appeal for aid at last working hospital in Syria's Sweida

Agence France-Presse

Hamas says no interim truce possible without work toward permanent ceasefire deal

Reuters

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Israel responds to Druze-Bedouin clashes in southern Syria as normalization talks uncertain

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Iran open to regional consortium, enriched uranium transfer in US nuclear talks

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Analysis

Stay a step ahead of your colleagues.

Analysis

Trump’s Syria gamble tested by unrest in Suwayda

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Analysis

UAE leader visits Turkey, emphasizing shift from rivalry to regional alignment

By Ezgi Akin , Rosaleen Carroll

Analysis

Is Sharaa’s Druze crackdown a warning to Syria’s Kurds?

Syrian security forces stand with their guns atop a truck on July 15, 2025, near Suwayda, Syria.

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

'You can’t embark on new war every few days': Israel-US daylight grows over Syria Druze, Sharaa

By Ben Caspit

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

image of Suwayda, Syria with smoke billowing up from an explosion

Suwayda reels from clashes as truce reached

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Al-Monitor chief correspondent Amberin Zaman interviews H.E. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The Future of Energy and Power in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

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Al-Monitor's State Department Correspondent Elizabeth Hagedorn stands on a balcony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia reporting on President Trump's trip to the Gulf.

President Trump's Visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE

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Plestia Alaqad on Gaza and South Lebanon

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AL-Monitor Global Institute hosts Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright

On May 22, 2025, the AL-Monitor Global Institute hosted Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in Washington DC to discuss the future of power and energy in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

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AI, innovation & global growth: Dr. Marwan Al-Zarouni & Dr. Alaa Murabit speak at event in Washington

Al-Monitor Global Institute hosted Dr. Marwan Al-Zarouni, chief AI officer at Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and CEO of the Dubai Blockchain Center, alongside Dr. Alaa Murabit, senior advisor at 500 Global, for a high-level conversation on how AI is accelerating innovation and transforming global economic development.

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UAE presidential advisor HE Dr. Anwar Gargash speaks at AL-Monitor event during UNGA

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City, AL-Monitor hosted HE Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the UAE, for an off-the-record dinner and discussion at Le Jardinier of the Bastion Collection. The event was attended by thought and business leaders as well as former officials.

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