Iran, a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, has built a significant military presence in Syria since the beginning of that country's civil war in 2011. Israel views Iran's military presence in Syria as a threat to its national security and has carried out
Israel rejected those terms, and the fighting developed into a full-scale war in 1973. (Read Britannica's 1980 interview with Anwar Sadat.) On the afternoon of October 6 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel simultaneously on two fronts.
Unrest in Syria began on 15 March 2011 as part of the wider 2011 Arab Spring protests out of discontent with the Syrian government, eventually escalating to an armed conflict after protests calling for Assad's removal were violently suppressed.
On 18 February, Israel struck targets in Damascus from the Golan Heights. The Kafr Sousa neighborhood was struck near highly guarded Iranian installations. Witnesses and officials said that the strike killed five people. According to the Israelis, the strike hit a warehouse used by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters.
Syria has been an active belligerent, with periodic ceasefires and use of proxies, against Israel ever since May 1948, when the Syrian army captured territory from the newly established State of Israel north and south of the Sea of Galilee.
The Golan Heights are a rocky plateau in Western Asia that was captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community widely considers the Golan Heights to be Syrian territory held by Israel under military occupation.
More than a decade of humanitarian crisis and hostilities has left children in Syria facing one of the most complex emergencies in the world. Two thirds of the population required assistance because of a worsening economic crisis, continued localized hostilities, mass displacement and devastated public infrastructure.
In mid-January 2018, the Trump administration indicated its intention to maintain an open-ended military presence in Syria to counter Iran's influence and oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
At least 12.4 million Syrians—out of an estimated population of around 16 million—are food insecure, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), an alarming increase of 3.1 million in one year. More than 600,000 children are chronically malnourished.
“For its relatively small size, the country has played a large role in global affairs,” it said. “The country has a strong economy, landmarks of significance to several religions, and strained relationships with many of its Arab neighbors.”
In the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek written during the third century BC (called the Septuagint), Aram and Arameans were often translated as Syria and the Syrians; hence, the king was referred to as the king of Syria, and this was carried on by many English translations.
In 1996, Turkey and Israel signed a free-trade agreement. In 1997, a double-taxation prevention treaty went into effect. A bilateral investment treaty was signed in 1998.
The Syrian government is politically and militarily supported by Iran and Russia, and actively supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Syrian-based Palestinian group PFLP-GC, and others.
As the leading donor of humanitarian aid to Syrians, the EU and its Member States have provided sustained humanitarian funding since the start of the conflict.
Bashar al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, the second son and third child of Anisa Makhlouf and Hafez al-Assad. Al-Assad in Arabic means "the Lion".
Russia has supported the administration of incumbent President Bashar al-Assad of Syria since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011: politically, with military aid, and (since September 2015) with direct military involvement.
Russia–Syria relations are the bilateral relations between Russia and Syria. Russia has an embassy in Damascus and Syria has an embassy in Moscow. Russia enjoys a historically strong, stable, and friendly relationship with Syria, as it did until the Arab Spring with most of the Arab countries.
While much of its oil is exported to Europe, Syria's natural gas is used in reinjection for enhanced oil recovery and for domestic electricity generation. Although Syria produces relatively modest quantities of oil and gas, its location is strategic in terms of regional security and prospective energy transit routes.
In early 2023, reports indicated that the forces of ISIS in Syria had mostly been defeated, with only a few cells remaining in various remote locations. As of 2023, Turkey was continuing its support for various militias within Syria, which periodically attempted some operations against Kurdish groups.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States are currently non-existent; they were suspended in 2012 after the onset of the Syrian Civil War. Priority issues between the two states include the Arab–Israeli conflict, the Golan Heights annexation, and the Iraq War.
Syria has experienced active armed conflict since 2011. No part of Syria is safe from violence. Kidnappings by armed groups, unjust arrests and/or detentions, the use of chemical warfare, shelling, and aerial bombardment of civilian centers pose significant risk of death or serious injury.
Syria is one of Israel's principal military threats. Syria's objective since the establishment of Israel in 1948 has been the destruction of the Jewish State; however, the IDF has defeated the Syrian army in every major military engagement.
The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, about 60km (40 miles) south-west of Damascus and covers about 1,000 sq km. It has a political and strategic significance which belies its size. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War.
Two soldiers were injured and damage sustained in Israel's latest air attacks in vicinity of Syria's capital city.
Iran has an embassy in Damascus. Syria and Iran are strategic allies. Syria is often called Iran's "closest ally", the Arab nationalism ideology of Syria's ruling Baath party notwithstanding.