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  • SDF

US forces patrol oil fields near Syria's north-east in the Qahtaniyah countryside of Hasakeh province on 3 September 2024. Delil Souleiman/AFP

The Palmyra attack and what it means for US-Syria cooperation

An Islamic State operative infiltrated Syria's security set-up and waited until he was with American soldiers. The assault requires an urgent reassessment of personnel and recruitment in Damascus.

Subhi Franjieh 16 December 2025
AFP_Al Majalla

Forging Syrian national unity is key to regional peace

Damascus has already taken steps towards this end, but international support will still be vital. It can also draw on relevant elements from Iraq's governing model.

James Jeffrey 22 October 2025
Al Majalla

Ilham Ahmed on negotiating Syria’s future

In a wide-ranging sitdown interview with Al Majalla, AANES Foreign Affairs Chief Ilham Ahmed lays out the lingering points of contention with Damascus and the way forward

Ibrahim Hamidi 03 October 2025
The "Unity of Position" conference, held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasakah on August 8, 2025. Social media

Heading for a showdown? SDF conference riles Damascus

Syria's government needs to centralise decision-making and bring armed groups to heel, but Kurds in the north-east want to establish a 'coalition of the unwilling' with Druze and Alawites. What now?

Subhi Franjieh 13 August 2025
The largest Syrian flag was raised on the highest pole, 110 meters high, in Tishreen Park in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on June 4. Getty

Taif offers clues on the right governing formula for a new Syria

Questions of autonomy, integration, participation, and administration are key to resolving Syria's many disputes among its many groups. Could a 1989 agreement for Lebanon show the way?

Sihanouk Dibo 13 August 2025
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters sit on a vehicle in the north of Raqqa city, Syria. Reuters

Fading hopes that the SDF will agree to Syrian integration

The autonomous Kurdish-led group in Syria's north-east has been protected by the US for a decade, but the move now is towards integration with Damascus. Unfortunately, the SDF has not got the memo.

Charles Lister 11 July 2025
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi (C) and Hamid Darbandi (C-R behind), envoy of Iraqi Kurdish politician Masoud Barzani, attend the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

In U-turn, Syrian Kurds are now demanding federalism

Having agreed on an outline for integration with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last month, Kurdish-led groups have now issued a raft of contradictory demands, angering both Damascus and Ankara

Omer Onhon 30 April 2025
The US-led Operation Inherent Resolve coalition against the Islamic State (IS) trains SDF fighters in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 7, 2022. Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

Where does the counter-IS mission stand after Sharaa-SDF deal?

An SDF shift away from the US partnership and the risk of IS resurgence could undo years of hard-won progress in the fight against terrorism

Caroline Rose 21 April 2025
Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi during the signing of the agreement to integrate the SDF into state institutions, Damascus, March 10, 2025. AFP

Reading between the lines of the Sharaa-Abdi deal

Al Majalla's exclusive interview with YPG commander Mazloum Abdi gives great insight into a landmark deal reached between Damascus and Syria's Kurds. This is my take on what Abdi really meant.

Omer Onhon 14 March 2025
Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi during the signing of the agreement to integrate the SDF into state institutions, Damascus, March 10, 2025. AFP

Sharaa's political pragmatism and the myth of sectarianism

After a hugely important deal to integrate Syria's Kurds, there is a growing realisation among myriad factions that national unity is crucial for the country's survival

Ahmed Maher 13 March 2025
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Politics

Trump’s 2026 Iran deal differs from Obama’s 2015 JCPOA

18 June 2026

Although an MOU will be officially signed on 19 June, there are already significant differences a decade later, despite the US aim being largely similar. Could Trump open Iran like Nixon opened China?

Robert Ford
Sara Gironi Carnevale
Science & Technology

A smarter ball, or a safer one? The header dilemma facing world football

11 June 2026

The official World Cup ball showcases the latest advances in football technology, but new research questions whether future designs should prioritise brain safety as well as performance

Marco Mossad
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian holding a memorandum of understanding he and US President Donald Trump signed to end the US-Iran war on 17 June, 2026. IRINN Iranian state television/AFP
Politics

How a US-Iran deal will impact Gulf relations with Tehran

17 June 2026

As a costly war draws to a close, Tehran has the chance to chart a new course in relation to its neighbours, but that requires a change of mindset

Zaid bin Ali al-Fadhil
Stefano Summo
Culture & Social Affairs

World Cup songs: from local themes to global industry

11 June 2026

Football's biggest tournament has come to adopt a single soundtrack every four years to give each offering a distinct identity. Is this genuine culture, or a mass marketing technique?

Najeeb Mubarak
Al Majalla
Politics

How Pakistan quietly brokered the historic US-Iran deal

16 June 2026

Islamabad kept both sides talking even as missiles were being launched. That tenacity looks to have paid dividends in a way that could yet reshape the Middle East's power dynamics.

Kaswar Klasra

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OPINIONS

10 years on, Brexit continues to divide Britons

Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin

New laws will embed Israel in US security agencies

Robert Ford
Robert Ford

Lebanon reopens its Gulf gateway as exports return to Saudi Arabia

Thuraya Shahin
Thuraya Shahin

Preventing the next Euphrates flood

Haid Haid
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