Syria's Foreign Minister meets Israeli intelligence chief in Jordan, sources say

Syria's Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani met with the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, Roman Gofman, in Jordan on Sunday (August 23, 2026), according to two sources who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. The meeting was aimed at easing tensions following an Israeli attack on an airbase in northwestern Syria.

The talks mark a resumption of negotiations between Israel and Syria's new authorities. In January, the two sides agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they moved towards a potential security agreement. The latest meeting came days after Israel bombed the disused Abu Duhur airbase on Tuesday (August 18, 2026), saying it wanted to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there. Turkey denied any visit to the site.

A diplomatic source and a Syrian government source said the two officials discussed the establishment of a “special operations room” in Jordan under U.S. supervision to prevent any confrontation in Syria, including those involving Turkey. The meeting was first reported by Axios, but neither government has officially confirmed it. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told AFP they had no comment.

U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack criticised the Israeli attack on the airbase this week, calling it an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.” Mr. Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Damascus, have traded barbs since the incident.

The Syrian government source said Sunday's talks were the first negotiations between Israel and Syria in some time, while the diplomatic source said they were the first in several months. Israel and Syria's new authorities have held several rounds of direct talks. After negotiations in Paris in January, they agreed to establish a dedicated communication cell under U.S. supervision to lower bilateral tensions.

An Arab diplomat in Damascus had earlier told AFP that a joint operations room based in Jordan would follow issues including security coordination and border control. The two sources also said Sunday's meeting addressed Israeli incursions into southern Syria.

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 by Islamist forces, whom Israel considers jihadists. Israel has also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that for decades separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. It has carried out repeated incursions deeper into Syrian territory and has vowed to keep troops in a so-called “security zone” in southern Syria, where it seeks a broader demilitarised area.

The talks came a day after Israel struck what it said was a militant in southern Syria. Damascus said one person was wounded in the strike, which it called a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and later annexed the areas under its control, a move recognised only by the United States and, this month, also by Colombia. U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing for a security deal between Syria and Israel, but Israel remains distrustful of Syria's authorities.