Syria

"The Russian role is as influential as the American role, so we are counting on them to reach understandings that stop the crisis and end the war," Syrian Democratic Council co-chair Riad Darar told Newsweek.

Russia seeks to leverage the Iranian threats in Iraq to pressure the U.S., while pushing on the Syrian front. This strategy in a sense creates a two-front push against the U.S. in the region and forces Washington to choose.

Amid heated criticisms as President Donald Trump focuses on securing oil reserves, a State Department spokesperson tells Newsweek, "We have been very clear regarding our overall policy goals in Syria."

The since-deleted video shows the soldiers asking Syrians if they watch Mia Khalifa, only to receive confused looks.

"The U.S. occupation forces, in full view of the United Nations and the international community, took a new step to plunder Syria's natural resources, including Syrian oil and gas," Syria's mission to the U.N. said in remarks sent to Newsweek.

Two young soldiers thwarted what the Israeli military said was an attempt by a four-man cell to plant an explosive at a post in the Golan Heights.

Salim Ayyash was found guilty of assassinating Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, while Assad Sabra, Hassan Issa, and Hassan Habib Merhi were cleared and both Hezbollah and Syria were found to be not directly involved.

U.S. and Syrian forces were involved in a clash that the latter say killed one of their troops, while a joint Russia-Turkey patrol was targeted by a blast.

Global powers, friends and foes alike, are stepping up to show support for Lebanon after Beirut's deadly blast, but the country has often been a venue for intersecting geopolitical interests.

No self-identified members of the loosely-affiliated Antifa protest movement have committed any murders or terrorist attacks.

Vladimir Putin's Russia is no friend of the United States.

U.S. policy involving Russia and Iran in the Middle East has struggled for coherence for years. Now the two countries are drawing closer, in arenas from Aghanistan, to Syria, to Lybia.

The U.S. must pressure Turkey to get out of Syria.

The U.S. and Iran have both accidentally shot down passenger planes in the heat of battle, killing hundreds of civilians as a result of the longstanding feud between the countries.

A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command confirmed to Newsweek that it was a U.S. F-15 that intercepted a Mahan Air passenger plane, reportedly causing it to rapidly descend, injuring passengers.

Israel conducts semi-regular strikes on Iranian forces and their allies across the border in Syria, having vowed not to let Tehran establish a foothold in the war-torn nation.

The United Nations Security Council failed on Friday to break a deadlock as the final vote is expected on Saturday.

"U.S. service members will continue to execute the Defeat ISIS mission in Syria, working in conjunction with vetted local forces in northeast Syria and around At Tanf Garrison," a Pentagon spokesperson told Newsweek.

Kelly Craft, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., tells Newsweek she has taken personally the Russia and China vetoes of a Security Council resolution that would have extended humanitarian access into Syria.

Twice this week a U.N. resolution which would have ensured cross-border cooperation until 2021 failed to pass.

"The peoples and countries of the region do not welcome the American presence, and our strong responses to American hostilities continue," Iran's most senior military officer said.

Moscow has not had a major military base in the Mediterranean since Egypt ordered out Soviet forces in 1972 has. This is changing.

Iran, Iraq, Russia and Syria developed the Quadripartite Information Exchange Center to battle ISIS in 2015 and Tehran argues it's still needed today amid tensions between Baghdad and Washington.

Turkey has persisted in its military campaigns in Iraq and Syria, targeting a Kurdish militia it has accused of training members of the left-wing, international antifa movement involved in protests across the United States.

Russia is expanding its presence in Syria and Libya, while checking U.S. aerial movement over the Mediterranean Sea, a strategic body of water on the southern flank of NATO.

Moscow finally seems to be growing weary of its Syrian burden.

As the U.S. and Israel suggest Iran is backing down, the Islamic Republic is looking to boost its regional ties.

James Jeffrey said that the U.S. must stay the course in Syria and that it was not the same kind of large-scale, costly deployment as Afghanistan or Vietnam.

ISIS has staged resurgent strikes in Iraq and Syria as the two war-torn nations now dealt with heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Russia is attempting to expand its military influence in the Middle East as the United States' global posture faced additional strain from the coronavirus pandemic and rival forces.