A file image of Syria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Syria’s Foreign Minister met the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency in Jordan on Sunday (August 23, 2026), two sources told AFP, a move aiming to ease tensions after an Israeli attack on an airbase in Syria’s northwest.
The talks, which restarted negotiations between Israel and Syria’s new authorities, came after the sides in January agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they edge towards a security agreement.
They also came after Israel on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) bombed the disused Abu Duhur base in Syria, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility, while Ankara denied any visit to the site.
Requesting anonymity, a diplomatic source and a Syrian government source said Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani and Mossad chief Roman Gofman discussed issues such as establishing “a special operations room” in Jordan under U.S. supervision to prevent any confrontation in Syria including involving Turkey.
The meeting, first reported by news outlet Axios, was not confirmed officially by either side, with a spokesperson for the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling AFP they had no comment.
U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack this week slammed Israel’s attack on the airbase as 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.
Southern Syria
The Syrian government source said the talks on Sunday (August 23, 2026) 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, and 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 told AFP at the time that a joint operations room based in Jordan would follow issues including security coordination and border control.
The two sources also said Mr. Shaibani and Mr. Gofman on Sunday (August 23, 2026) discussed Israeli incursions into southern Syria.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria since the December 2024 toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist forces whom it considers jihadists.
It has also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that for decades had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
Israel has also 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, as 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, in a move only recognised by the United States and, this month, also 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.
Published – August 24, 2026 01:53 am IST
