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  • Syria

The Great Colonnade (Decumanus Maximus) at Palmyra, one of six Syrian sites on the UNESCO elite list of world heritage. All of them sustained some level of damage in the 13-year civil war. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP

The plundering of Syria's cultural heritage - Part 2

The second instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush 18 July 2025
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf testifies during a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the US Capitol on November 8, 2023. Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP

Barbara Leaf: sectarian power-sharing not the answer in Syria

Al Majalla spoke to a seasoned diplomat who helped shape American policy on the Middle East during Joe Biden's presidency, asking her about Syria, US engagement, Iran, and Palestine.

Ahmed Maher 17 July 2025
A visitor makes sketches at Palmyra. During their occupation of the site from 2015, Islamic State (IS) jihadists reduced several temples, columns, and other treasures to heaps of stone. Omar Haj Kadour/AFP

The plundering of Syria’s cultural heritage - Part 1

The first instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape

Abdul Rahman Mazhar Halloush 16 July 2025
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa with Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and others in Damascus on 21 December 2024. They are now trying to create a parliament. Reuters

Between hope and doubt: the making of Syria’s new Parliament

While sham elections have been seen before, a genuinely representative elected legislature has not. The opportunity is huge, and early signs are good, but there are still far too many questions.

Haid Haid 13 July 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
Israeli army soldiers add zip ties to the mast of an Israeli flag flying at a special area for exercises during a military drill in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on July 8, 2025. Jalaa Marey/AFP

Why Syria and Israel should walk, not run, towards peace

This is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to agree a détente between two hostile neighbours, but getting there is tricky. Several issues must (but can) be overcome.

Michael Harari 11 July 2025
A member of the Syrian security forces searches a defunct drug factory inside an abandoned building near the village of Hawik in the countryside of Al-Qusayr on February 12, 2025. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Redefining counter-narcotics in a new Syria

Challenges lie ahead for the new Syrian government as it seeks to close the gap in security policy

Caroline Rose 07 July 2025
A Syrian rebel fighter holds a container of pills of Captagon discovered at a drug manufacturing facility in the city of Douma on the eastern outskirts of Damascus on December 12, 2024. Bakr ALKASEM / AFP

Wasim al-Assad’s arrest is a big win for Syria's war on crime

The arrest of a key player in the former regime's security and illicit apparatus represents a new level of capacity for Syria's new leaders

Caroline Rose 03 July 2025
Lina Jaradat

Administration is integral to Syria’s state-building task

'Look to the woman,' as the French say, for it is the woman that runs the household. Likewise, it is the state's administration that runs the ministries and achieves the objectives set by ministers.

Hussein al-Sharaa 02 July 2025

Rabbi behind the Abraham Accords: Trump key to Israel-Syria peace

American Rabbi Abraham Cooper has just met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, weeks after meeting Syria's foreign minister in New York. Al Majalla went to ask his thoughts.

Ibrahim Hamidi 30 June 2025
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Al Majalla
Politics

Israel's race for regime change in Iran

03 March 2026

Israel knows its military operation cannot last forever, so it is racing to either kill or fatally wound the Islamic Republic before the clock runs out

Michael Horowitz
Al Majalla
Business & Economy

Oil prices soar as US-Iran war sparks supply worries

04 March 2026

European gas prices have jumped by 30% after some big GCC oil and gas producers cut supplies, and now a vital maritime trade route is being threatened. The stakes have seldom been higher.

Thuraya Shahin
Deena So Oteh
Politics

Khamenei's killing opens up a strategic abyss

01 March 2026

Gulf states' delicate balancing act—maintaining security partnerships with the US while cautiously reopening channels to Iran—has been shattered

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy
Al Majalla
Profiles

Alireza Arafi: the cleric charged with selecting Iran's next Supreme Leader

02 March 2026

A clerical member of the Guardian Council, he was selected to serve on the Leadership Council along with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei

Alex Vatanka
Reuters /Al Majalla
Politics

Trump is betraying his base by waging war on Iran

02 March 2026

Voters were promised America First, not Bush-era interventions

Emma Ashford

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OPINIONS

Will European allies get drawn into the US-Iran war?

Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin

Hezbollah drags Lebanon into war once more

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet

Hezbollah's propensity for recklessness never fails

Houssam Itani
Houssam Itani

Oil prices soar as US-Iran war sparks supply worries

Thuraya Shahin
Thuraya Shahin
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