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Iran’s foreign minister (right) poses for a picture with his Saudi counterpart on June 17, 2023, in Tehran.

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The detentes that have emerged between long-standing rivals have made the region more peaceful, but old wounds could still reopen.

In the Middle East, Shared Interests Are Turning Former Foes Into Friends -- For Now

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On Geopolitics

Middle East and North Africa

Syrian President Bashar al Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, on May 3, 2023. 

Arab states are offering the Syrian president restored diplomacy in exchange for dismantling the warlord political model that helped him survive years of civil war. 

For Assad, Syria-Arab Normalization May Come With a Poisoned Chalice

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United States

Russia

A picture shows the Saudi Embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 13, 2023. 

Assad's refusal to concede power will impede Arab states' recent push to ease his regime's international isolation by fueling concerns among regional and U.S. skeptics. 

The Obstacles to Syria's Normalization

On Security

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Seized marijuana bricks are incinerated in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While narco-states exist on a spectrum of severity, they can all have dramatic geopolitical, operational and tactical impacts that raise a wide variety of risks.

What Is a Narco-State, and Why Does It Matter?

An aerial view shows destroyed buildings in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Feb. 8, 2023, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the region in the early hours of Feb. 6, followed by another 7.5-magnitude tremor just after midday.

If the disaster response is seen as inadequate, Erdogan and his ruling AKP will face an even tougher battle in upcoming elections.

Gauging the Political Fallout From Turkey's Massive Earthquakes

Ukraine

A picture taken on Oct. 28, 2022, shows the Russian-controlled port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. 

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Russia's escalating strikes on civilians and critical infrastructure will harden Ukraine's resolve to fight and its NATO allies' resolve to help. 

Russia's Scorched-Earth Tactics in Syria Won't Prove as Successful in Ukraine 

If Turkey and Syria continue to move toward normalization, improved bilateral relations will impact conflicts at home and abroad.

Signs Point to Improved Turko-Syrian Relations. What's Next?

A U.S. Oshkosh M-ATV Mine Resistant Ambush Protected military vehicle patrols near the Syria-Turkey border in a village east of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Aug. 21. The village was subject to bombardment the previous week.

An uptick in violence between U.S. and Iran-backed troops in Syria illustrates that the proxy conflict is here to stay.

Deal or No Nuclear Deal, U.S.-Iran Skirmishes in Syria Are Here to Stay

U.S.-Iran Relations

A fighter of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army is seen through the hole of a damaged building in the northern town of Marea, facing the Kurdish-controlled area of Tal Rifaat, on Aug. 2, 2022. 

Increased fighting with U.S.-backed SDF forces could see Ankara launch a major invasion that would not only irk Russia but severely impede U.S. counterterrorism operations.


Turkey Raises the Stakes in Northern Syria

Sub-Saharan Africa

Iraq

Afghanistan

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab recruits walk down a street in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu following their graduation in March 2012. 

In the second part of this series, we explore al-Zawahiri's struggles to implement his ''far enemy'' strategy and whether his successor can return al Qaeda to its former prominence.

Al-Zawahiri's Legacy, Part 2: Will the al Qaeda Leader's Vision Outlive Him?

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) speaks with then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (left) in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 22, 2021.

Moscow's pressure on Israel to reduce support for Kyiv and ease airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria could trigger a diplomatic crisis or accidental military escalation between the two.

Russia and Israel's Row Over Ukraine Risks Bleeding Into Syria

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A protester waves Sri Lanka's national flag outside the presidential palace in Colombo on July 13, 2022. 

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Sri Lanka Picks a New President, a Russia-Turkey-Iran Summit

China

Syrian President Bashar al Assad will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China, during the Asian Games, AP reported on Sept. 21.

Syria, China: Assad Visits China in Search of Reconstruction Aid

Ethnic Druze protesters in Syria's Sweida province broke into the ruling Baath Party's offices, kicked out officials, welded doors shut and vandalized the property over the growing cost-of-living crisis, AP reported on Aug. 29.

Syria: Cost-of-Living Protests in Sweida May Inspire More Unrest

Protesters in the Syrian city of Sweida attacked and ransacked the offices of the country's ruling Baath party over the growing economic crisis, AP reported on Aug. 23.

Syria: Protesters Attack Baath Party Offices Over Worsening Economic Crisis

Islamic State gunmen killed up to 23 Syrian soldiers in an ambush in Deir el-Zour, Syria, near the Iraqi border, AP reported on Aug. 11.

Syria: New Islamic State Attack Indicates Uptick in Group's Activities

Unidentified militants detonated an explosive device in the Sayyida Zaynab neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus, killing six people and wounding 26 others, AP reported on July 27.

Syria: Bombing Near Shiite Shrine in Damascus

The U.S. Air Force said a Russian plane struck a U.S. MQ-9 drone with a flare over Syria, severely damaging its propeller, on July 23, The Jerusalem Post reported on July 25.

Russia, U.S.: Russian Jet Struck U.S. Drone With Flare Over Syria

Jordan

Jordan's military head Gen. Yousef Huneiti and intelligence head Gen. Ahmad Husni met with their Syrian counterparts in Amman, Jordan, where they agreed to coordinate anti-drug efforts as part of Jordan's ongoing normalization with Syria, Agence France-Presse reported on July 23.

Jordan, Syria: New Anti-Drug Forum Will Slow, Not Stop, Captagon Trade

In a letter to the United Nations, Syria said it had made a "sovereign decision" to reopen the Syria-Turkey Bab al-Hawa humanitarian crossing to aid for six months, BBC reported on July 14.

Syria: Government Co-Opts Bab al-Hawa Humanitarian Crossing From U.N.

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A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

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The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

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Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

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A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

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<p>Modern Syria is located along the eastern Mediterranean Sea, bordering Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Syria&rsquo;s main geographic challenge is uniting its diverse ethnic groups under one domestic power. This is the result of mountainous terrain and ethnic cores that contradict the state&rsquo;s current borders. Syria&rsquo;s population is composed of Sunni Arabs, Alawites, Kurds, Druze, and Christians, among others. The traditional core of Syria&#39;s ruling Alawite minority sits on the northern coastal plain to the west of the Jabal an Nusayriya mountains and to the north of the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Between these two ranges, the Homs Gap has often been the point of invasions from the Mediterranean Sea. The interior region is dominated by the majority Sunni Arab peoples. The Syrian Desert divides this area into two competing regions with strong local identities. The first, Damascus, is the historical capital and the modern seat of power for the Alawites. The other, Aleppo, is situated in the agricultural heartlands of the Aleppo plateau. The Euphrates river divides this plateau from the much more arid Jazirah plateau and allows for irrigation in an otherwise desert region. Syria&rsquo;s modern boundaries fall short of the historical concept of Greater Syria&mdash;spanning from Lebanon to the west and Jordan and Israel to the south. Its current borders were set by the League of Nations&#39; French Mandate, following the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. Lebanon, especially Beirut, has always been important to Syria because of its trade ports and access to Mediterranean markets. Syria&rsquo;s recent civil unrest is the latest example of its geographic challenge. Maintaining unity remains difficult so long as its current boundaries continue to overlap regional and ethnic fault lines.</p>

The Syrian Civil War

The Fight Against the Islamic State

Iran's Arc of Influence

The Battle for Mosul

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Syrian Arab Republic

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Male

Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have extended the United Nations' mandate to operate the Turkey-Syria Bab al-Hawa humanitarian border crossing for another nine months, AP reported on July 11.

Syria, Turkey: Russia Signals End of U.N. Aid to Syria's Idlib Province

SITUATION REPORTS

Syria, China: Assad Visits China in Search of Reconstruction Aid

Syria: Cost-of-Living Protests in Sweida May Inspire More Unrest

Syria: Protesters Attack Baath Party Offices Over Worsening Economic Crisis

Syria: New Islamic State Attack Indicates Uptick in Group's Activities

Syria: Bombing Near Shiite Shrine in Damascus

Russia, U.S.: Russian Jet Struck U.S. Drone With Flare Over Syria

Jordan, Syria: New Anti-Drug Forum Will Slow, Not Stop, Captagon Trade

Syria: Government Co-Opts Bab al-Hawa Humanitarian Crossing From U.N.

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