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The United States is working to set up a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Türkiye and Syria, U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said Tuesday, after Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian airbase near the Turkish border and raised fears of a wider regional confrontation.
Barrack, who also serves as U.S. ambassador to Türkiye, said Ankara had received no advance warning of the strikes on the Abu al-Dahur airbase in northwestern Syria. Turkish forces "observed the aircraft heading north toward its territory and therefore could have reasonably prepared its own response," he said in a phone interview, referring to the possibility of a Turkish military reaction. "Thankfully, calm heads were able to prevent the situation from deteriorating further," he added.
Türkiye condemned the strikes but did not elaborate further, including on whether it would support a deconfliction arrangement.
Barrack said the Israeli strikes "reflected a perception, whether accurate or misplaced, that Türkiye might in the near future increase its presence" at the airbase. He said that dynamic underscored the need for a formal communications channel.
"This underscores the need for a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Türkiye. That is something we are actively working on to establish in order to prevent future miscommunication," Barrack said. "The priority now is to lower tensions and allow space for a more measured approach."
A deconfliction mechanism is a communications channel meant to prevent misunderstandings or accidental clashes between military or political actors.
The airbase, about 70 kilometers east of the Turkish border, had been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and changed hands repeatedly during Syria's 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.
Syria's state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, reported that Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the base's runway and storage facilities. A separate military source and a civilian living near the base said there were no casualties. The Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes.
Israel has for years struck targets inside Syria, saying the strikes are aimed at curbing Iranian influence and preventing weapons transfers to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since Assad's overthrow in 2024, Israel has also regarded Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa with suspicion and has continued military operations inside the country, including strikes on government sites in southern and central Syria in March.
Türkiye, which has NATO's second-largest army and this month signed a mutual defense pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has emerged as one of al-Sharaa's principal allies. Ankara has been training Syria's army and providing military and diplomatic support, while also helping Damascus rebuild state institutions and infrastructure.
Israel's Prime Minister's Office said on social media platform X that Israel and Syria had agreed to a security status quo that Syria was "on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo." The statement said Israel had repeatedly warned Syria against such a deployment and that Syria had ignored those warnings. "Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo," the statement said.
Syria and Israel have held several rounds of de-escalation and border talks since al-Sharaa's rebel forces toppled Assad, though no agreement has been reached. "An incident of the kind that occurred this morning demonstrates the need to intensify these efforts and expand the process," Barrack said.
Barrack said the United States already facilitates an information-sharing and dialogue channel among the parties but that it needs to be strengthened. "What is required is a more robust architecture with greater resources committed to it," he said. "Investing in such mechanisms is far less costly than relying on kinetic means of communication, that can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars," he said, referring to the cost of military force.
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