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  • Ahmed al-Sharaa

Syrian security stands guard as a convoy of US military equipment is transported along the Damascus–Amman highway as the US withdraws from its bases in Syria on 16 April, 2026. BAKR ALKASEM / AFP

The US ends its military presence in Syria: why now and what next?

Washington is reordering its priorities as part of a broader strategic shift across the Middle East, and eyes a possible alliance with Damascus as a next step

Subhi Franjieh 22 April 2026
Released detainees prepare to leave the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh governorate on 3 September 2023. AFO

The transfer of the IS file to Damascus is a test

The fight against IS will determine whether post-war Syria can confront the consequences of mass violence without recreating the conditions that allowed it to endure

Haid Haid 02 February 2026
People stand outside the Justice Palace after first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year, in Aleppo on 18 November 2025. BAKR ALKASEM / AFP

Fresh UK sanctions on Syria send a message

London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities

Haid Haid 27 December 2025
Lina Jaradat

Trump, Sharaa, and the future of Syria

There was visible warmth when the US and Syrian presidents met in the Oval Office last month, with some even speculating a Trump visit to Damascus. But there is much to do before that happens.

Robert Ford 07 December 2025
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani meets with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on 17 November, 2025. SANA

China's approach to 'the new Syria' is one of cautious optimism

Beijing's concerns over Uyghur militants in the Syrian military and ongoing political instability continue to cast a shadow over the relationship

Xiaotong Yang 06 December 2025
A man holds up a sign that reads in Arabic, "Release of the detained", as people take part in a protest in the coastal city of Latakia in Syria's Alawite heartland on 25 November 2025. HAIDAR MUSTAFA / AFP

Syria's coastal protests come with a critical message

What they reveal is far more consequential than their modest turnout suggests

Haid Haid 02 December 2025
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meets with the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, on the sidelines of their official visit to Washington DC on 11 November 2025. SANA / AFP

Why Hakan Fidan attended the Trump-Sharaa meeting

The US wants the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces to be integrated into the Syrian army, but needs Türkiye to be on board

Omer Onhon 15 November 2025
This handout photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 10 November 2025, shows US President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House in Washington DC. SANA / AFP

Syria-US rapprochement sees cooperation surge

Since Trump began lifting sanctions in May, no time has been wasted. US investment delegations have been flocking to Damascus, and security cooperation has already started.

Charles Lister 13 November 2025
Axel Rangel Garcia

Barbara Leaf on being the first US official to meet Ahmed Sharaa

On Monday, the Syrian president shook hands with Trump at the White House. Speaking to Al Majalla, a former State Department official explains why this is a moment she could have never imagined.

Ibrahim Hamidi 11 November 2025
Axel Rangel Garcia

As Sharaa steps into the White House, Syria steps into the US orbit

In what could be a historic turning point in US-Syria relations, the new government in Damascus will likely join the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS)

Subhi Franjieh 09 November 2025
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Nash
Business & Economy

The tiny waterway that put the global economy into a chokehold

18 April 2026

Disruption in the Hormuz can have major implications for global trade, but it also creates opportunities for smaller nations like Iran to become global political players

Steve Hewitt
Pete Reynolds
Politics

Glimpses of Bush's Iraq debacle appear in Trump's Iran war

15 April 2026

The Iraq war was viewed as disastrous in retrospect, while the Iran war was unpopular from the get-go. Al Majalla highlights the similarities and differences between the two.

Robert Ford
Al Majalla
Business & Economy

The US plan to turn Syria into an oil transit hub

16 April 2026

Pipelines have a chequered history in the Middle East, but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led US Tom Barrack to conclude that a new route through Syria could solve some problems.

Al Majalla - London
An Iranian woman flashes the V-sign as she takes part in a rally to pay tribute to women killed during war, in Tehran on 17 April 2026. AFP
Politics

Has Iran's ideology actually hardened?

16 April 2026

The change in tone and presentation of policy isn't a fundamental redirection, but rather the consolidation of a system under pressure

Alex Vatanka
Egyptian director Daoud Abdel Sayed holds two awards during the opening ceremony of the Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria, late on 14 September 2010. AMR AHMAD / AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

Daoud Abdel Sayed and the cinema of quiet rebellion

16 April 2026

Throughout his career, the renowned Egyptian film director challenged authority, rejected easy answers, and remained rooted in lived experience

Hazem Massoud

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OPINIONS

Iran refuses to attend Islamabad talks

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

Our cheap lives and our great causes

Houssam Itani
Houssam Itani

The US ends its military presence in Syria: why now and what next?

Subhi Franjieh
Subhi Franjieh

The world is paying the price for America’s war

Ravi Agrawal
Ravi Agrawal
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