Damascus and Tel Aviv Discuss Turkish Military Presence in Syria

Damascus and Tel Aviv Discuss Turkish Military Presence in Syria

Aug 20 2026

ARK News.. The head of Israel’s Mossad reportedly held a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to discuss Turkey’s military presence in Syria, just days before Israel carried out an airstrike on a Syrian airbase.

According to Reuters, three sources familiar with the matter said the call took place on August 14 between Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Shibani, marking one of the highest-level contacts reported so far between Israel and the administration in Damascus led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The sources said Turkish military support for Syria was a central topic of Gofman’s conversation with Al-Shaibani, which took place four days before Israel’s strike on the Abu al-Duhour airbase in Idlib.

One source said the call focused on “Israeli inquiries into what Turkey was doing in terms of increasing its military presence as well as weapons sales, the provision of drones, and other issues.”

A second source, described as a senior official, said Gofman used the call to inquire about Turkey’s supply of weapons to the Syrian army.

A third source familiar with the call confirmed that the two officials discussed Turkey’s military presence in Syria.

The Turkish Defense Ministry declined to comment, while the Turkish Foreign Ministry had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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