Axios: Al-Shaybani meets Mossad chief to de-escalate tensions
Senior Israeli and Syrian officials met on Sunday in an effort to de-escalate tensions between the two countries following an Israeli airstrike on a Syrian airbase, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Axios.
The meeting took place between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani and Israeli Mossad head Romen Gofman, days after the Israeli raid on the Syrian airbase, which had led to a sharp escalation in tensions between the two nations.
Earlier, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Gofman had made a phone call to al-Shaybani on August 14, during which they discussed the Turkish military presence in Syria, days before the Israeli strike on the airbase.
According to the sources, the call represented one of the highest levels of publicized communication so far between Israel and the Syrian administration in Damascus, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The sources told Reuters that the issue of Turkish military support for Syria dominated the conversation between Gofman and al-Shaybani, which took place four days before the Israeli strike.
One source said the call focused on “Israeli inquiries regarding what Turkey was doing in terms of increasing its military presence, as well as arms sales, providing drones, and other issues.”
The Turkish Ministry of Defense declined to comment, while the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.
Following the Israeli attack on Abu al-Duhur Airbase, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Damascus was on the verge of allowing the deployment of Turkish troops there, and that it had ignored Israel’s repeated warnings that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israeli security.
In a video clip posted on the X platform, Netanyahu said Israel “will not tolerate a Turkish military presence in Syria that threatens Israel.”
He added, “We made it clear to Turkey: Do not do this. It seems they did not hear the message, so we made sure they understood it better,” apparently referring to the airstrikes.
Turkey has become a close ally of the new Syrian government since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024, after having supported the armed opposition during the Syrian civil war. The growing Turkish influence in Syria has raised Israeli concerns, particularly given the extension of the Syrian border to the north of Israel.
In July, al-Sharaa, who has cultivated close ties with Washington, said Syria was seeking to reach a security agreement with Israel and was trying to involve a wide range of countries to pressure Israel into adopting a more balanced policy toward Damascus.
The Israeli-Syrian meeting comes days after the Israeli raid on a Syrian airbase, which raised the level of tension between the two countries.
According to Axios, the meeting aims to de-escalate tensions and prevent further escalation, as the Turkish military presence in Syria has become one of the primary sources of Israeli concern in relations with Damascus.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister declined to comment on the meeting, while a spokesperson for al-Shaybani did not respond to Axios’s request for comment.
