Syria Diplomatic Shift

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz visited troops in southern Syria on Tuesday, declaring that forces will not withdraw from their positions as long as security threats exist. The visit drew condemnation from Damascus, which called it a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Katz's remarks came after Israel claimed responsibility for strikes on a Syrian airbase to block an alleged Turkish troop deployment. The Israeli military chief, General Eyal Zamir, said Israel would not allow threats to take root on its border. Israeli forces remain deployed in the former U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights.

The U.S. removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday, after nearly five decades. Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has described the Israeli strikes as an unnecessary escalation, urging dialogue. Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces formally declared the group dissolved as an independent military force on Tuesday, fulfilling the final step of the integration deal struck in January. Mazloum Abdi made the announcement during a press conference at the presidential palace in Damascus, flanked by senior Kurdish officials, following a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Abdi confirmed the SDF's full absorption into state institutions, ending the force's autonomous operations in northeastern Syria after the government offensive earlier this year. During the ceremony, al-Sharaa pledged to protect the right to Kurdish-language education, a concession tied to the broader political settlement.

The announcement follows last week's deployment of Syrian army units into Hasakah and Qamishli and the removal of SDF symbols from public spaces, completing the transition outlined in the comprehensive agreement reached in late January.

The United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday after a mandatory congressional review period expired, ending a designation that had been in place for 47 years.

The legal deadline for Congress to review the decision ended on Aug. 24, completing the legislative review phase, a Syrian foreign ministry adviser said. President Donald Trump first informed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa of the decision on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara on July 8. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the lifting of sanctions would open the door to international trade and investment, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move would help promote further investment in Syria.

The Trump administration has also lifted broader sanctions including those under the Caesar Act. Al-Sharaa previously led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which toppled the Assad regime in December 2024, and the group was itself removed from the US terror list last year.

Syria condemned an Israeli drone strike on a civilian vehicle in the village of Beit Jinn, southwest of Damascus, calling it a blatant violation of sovereignty after at least one person was wounded. The Israeli military said it targeted a militant in the final stages of preparing an attack that posed an immediate threat.

The strike is the second known Israeli attack on Syria this week, following Tuesday's bombing of the Abu al-Duhur airbase near the Turkish border. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Syria was on the verge of breaching a security status quo by permitting Turkish troop deployments near Aleppo, a claim Ankara denied. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack suggested the strike could amount to Israel baiting Turkey ahead of Israeli elections, an assertion Israel's defence minister dismissed as inaccurate.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December 2024, while simultaneously expanding its presence beyond the Golan Heights buffer zone.