Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with a delegation of Israeli intelligence officials in Jordan on Sunday for talks aimed at de-escalating regional tensions, according to reports from Syrian state media. The meeting, mediated by the United States, took place following a recent Israeli airstrike on a Syrian airbase near the Turkish border.
Syria’s official SANA news agency, citing a diplomatic source, reported that the discussions focused on “establishing practical mechanisms to halt Israeli attacks” and “reviving negotiations for a lasting security agreement between the two sides.” The AFP news agency identified the head of the Israeli delegation as Mossad chief Roman Gofman.
The talks are part of a U.S.-led diplomatic effort that has been ongoing for over a year to broker a security agreement between Israel and the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Tensions between the countries have been elevated since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in December 2024, with Israel conducting numerous strikes on Syrian territory.
The recent meeting followed an Israeli strike last Thursday on the Abu Duhur airbase in northwestern Idlib. Israeli officials stated the strike was intended to prevent the deployment of Turkish troops to the base, a claim that both Syria and Turkiye have denied.
According to the SANA report, the Syrian delegation stated that Syria is a “sovereign state with the full right to rebuild and develop its national army and determine its alliances.” The report noted that Syria’s immediate priorities in the talks included a full restoration of the 1974 disengagement agreement and an Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since the change in Syria’s government. Syrian officials also reaffirmed Damascus’s claim of sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Separately, Israeli media reported the talks were “positive” and outlined several positions held by Israeli officials. These reportedly included preventing Turkish military activity in Syria, keeping the Syrian side of the Golan Heights demilitarized, and preventing the Syrian army from acquiring certain strategic weapons.
In an interview with Reuters published ahead of the meeting, al-Shaibani said that while Damascus did not trust Israel, the door for diplomacy remained open. He confirmed that Syria had cut off contact with Israel after the Abu al-Duhur airbase strike.
Hassan Mneimneh, a political analyst at the Middle East Institute, provided his perspective on the talks to Al Jazeera. He said that Syria was concerned about the country becoming a “battlefield” between Israel and Turkiye. Mneimneh added that, from Syria’s viewpoint, the negotiations appear aimed at avoiding a “disintegration of Syrian authority” and ensuring that a conflict between Israel and Turkiye does not prevent Syria from consolidating its government.
