Uncategorized
US Military to Establish Presence at Damascus Airbase, Sources Say
US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The US plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which have not previously been reported, would be a sign of Syria’s strategic realignment with the US following the fall last year of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.
The base sits at the gateway to parts of southern Syria that are expected to make up a demilitarized zone as part of a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria. That deal is being mediated by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
TRUMP SET TO MEET SYRIAN PRESIDENT ON MONDAY
Trump will meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, the first such visit by a Syrian head of state.
Reuters spoke to six sources familiar with preparations at the base, including two Western officials and a Syrian defense official, who confirmed the US was planning to use the base to help monitor a potential Israel-Syria agreement.
The Pentagon and Syrian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the plan. The Syrian presidency and defense ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the plan sent via the Syrian information ministry.
A US administration official said the US was “constantly evaluating our necessary posture in Syria to effectively combat ISIS [Islamic State] and [we] do not comment on locations or possible locations of [where] forces operate.”
The official requested that the name and location of the base be removed for operational security reasons. Reuters has agreed to not reveal the exact location.
A Western military official said the Pentagon had accelerated its plans over the last two months with several reconnaissance missions to the base. Those missions concluded the base’s long runway was ready for immediate use.
Two Syrian military sources said the technical talks have been focused on the use of the base for logistics, surveillance, refueling, and humanitarian operations, while Syria would retain full sovereignty over the facility.
A Syrian defense official said the US had flown to the base in military C-130 transport aircraft to make sure the runway was usable. A security guard at one of the base’s entrances told Reuters that American aircraft were landing there as part of “tests.”
It was not immediately clear when US military personnel would be dispatched to the base.
JOINT SYRIAN-AMERICAN PRESENCE
The new US plans appear to mirror two other new US military presences in the region monitoring cessation of hostilities agreements: one in Lebanon, which closely watches last year’s ceasefire between Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah and Israel, and one in Israel that monitors the Trump-era truce between Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel.
The US already has troops stationed in northeastern Syria, as part of a decade-long effort to help a Kurdish-led force there combat Islamic State. In April, the Pentagon said it would halve the number of troops there to 1,000.
Sharaa has said any US troop presence should be agreed with the new Syrian state. Syria is set to imminently join the US-led global anti-ISIS coalition, US and Syrian officials say.
A person familiar with the talks over the base said the move was discussed during a trip by Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), to Damascus on Sept. 12.
A CENTCOM statement at the time said Cooper and US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack had met Sharaa and thanked him for contributing to the fight against IS in Syria, which it said could help accomplish Trump’s “vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors.” The statement did not mention Israel.
The US has been working for months to reach a security pact between Israel and Syria, two longtime foes. It had hoped to announce a deal at the United Nations General Assembly in September but talks hit a last-minute snag.
A Syrian source familiar with the talks told Reuters that Washington was exerting pressure on Syria to reach a deal before the end of the year, and possibly before Sharaa’s trip to Washington.
Uncategorized
Trump Threatens to Hit Iran Infrastructure on Tuesday if Strait Remains Blocked
US President Donald Trump arrives to award the medal of honor to Master Sgt. Roderick ‘Roddie’ W. Edmonds, Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2026.
US President Donald Trump said in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday that the United States will target Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post, referencing the key shipping lane that Tehran has effectively closed since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran more than a month ago.
“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!,” Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: “Praise be to Allah.”
The president separately said he would hold a news conference on Monday in the Oval Office, after the US military rescued two US pilots whose aircraft were downed in Iran.
Uncategorized
Zelensky in Syria to Discuss Security Cooperation with Sharaa
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to work for enhanced security in talks on Sunday with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa, as Kyiv seeks to promote its military expertise across the region following the outbreak of the Iran war.
Zelensky, continuing his tour of Middle East countries, also said Ukraine wants to contribute to food security in the region.
In recent weeks, Zelensky has visited several countries across the Middle East, offering Ukrainian expertise in countering drone and missile attacks, developed during its four-year war with Russia.
“We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience.”
Zelensky told the Syrian leader that Ukraine, as a major grain producer, was a reliable supplier of food and said the two leaders “discussed joint opportunities to strengthen food security across the region.”
In Turkey on Saturday, Zelensky said he had agreed on “new steps” in security cooperation with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and discussed opportunities in joint gas infrastructure projects and gas field development.
“Today in Damascus we continue our active Ukrainian diplomacy aimed at real security and economic cooperation,” Zelensky said on X after his arrival.
It was the Ukrainian leader’s first trip to Syria since diplomatic relations were re-established at the end of last year following the fall of Syria’s long-time strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Zelensky’s talks with Sharaa were linked to defense in light of the US-Israeli war in Iran, said one Syrian source, a government adviser. Syria is not known to have any air defenses capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.
During Zelensky’s visits to Gulf states last weekend, Ukraine signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and he said that a similar agreement was close to completion with UAE.
Syria is home to two major Russian military bases, used by its navy and air force. Sharaa said on Tuesday at an event in Chatham House in London that work was under way to transform these into “centers to train the Syrian army.”
Uncategorized
China Ready to Cooperate with Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo
China is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the UN Security Council and make efforts to cool down the Middle East situation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday.
Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, adding that China has always advocated political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation.
The foreign ministers’ call came ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
As permanent UNSC members, China and Russia should “adopt an objective and balanced approach and seek to win greater understanding and support from the international community,” Wang told Lavrov, according to a statement from his ministry.
China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region and Middle East, urging an end to the fighting that has run for more than a month and largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery for oil and gas.