LONDON: Israeli attacks on post-Assad Syria are nothing new. But when Israeli jets bombed a Syrian airbase last week, even Washington sat up and took notice — and issued a strongly worded, and very public, reprimand.
Despite repeated reassurances from Damascus that Syria poses no threat to Israel, the Israel Defense Forces have struck multiple Syrian military targets since the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in December 2024, ostensibly to prevent them falling into the hands of “terrorists.”
Then, on Aug. 18, Israeli jets attacked Abu Al-Duhur airbase near Idlib in northwest Syria. For Washington, this was a raid too far. Within hours, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, responded on social media.
“We are deeply concerned that the Israeli airstrikes on Abu Al-Duhur airbase constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability,” he posted on X.
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in Damascus, Syria September 16, 2025. (REUTERS)
