As part of efforts to ease tensions between Syria and Israel, Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani was said to have met with Roman Gofman, director of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad.
The two countries’ senior officials were said to have met on Sunday in an effort to reduce tensions. The meeting between Shaibani and Gofman was said to have taken place after those talks.
Damascus-Tel Aviv contacts suspended
Shaibani said direct Damascus-Tel Aviv contacts had been suspended after Israel attacked the unused Abu al-Duhur air base in Idlib province in northwestern Syria.
Syria’s foreign minister said he expected negotiations between the two sides on a security agreement to resume soon.
The Israeli prime minister’s office and a spokesperson for Syria’s Foreign Ministry did not comment on the reported meeting. Its location was not disclosed.
The Israeli press also claimed that the meeting had gone well. Damascus authorities made no official statement on the claims.
Syria’s search for a security agreement
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced on July 26 that they were working with the participation of various countries to reach a security agreement with Israel. Sharaa said such an agreement could pave the way for comprehensive peace, but stressed that Syria would not relinquish its rights over the occupied Golan Heights.
The claim about the meeting was said to have emerged a few days after Israel’s August 18 attack on the unused Abu al-Duhur air base in Idlib.
Israel has held most of Syria’s Golan Heights since 1967. After the government of Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in late 2024, Israel declared that the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement was no longer valid.
Israel also established control over several areas, including the buffer zone on the Syrian side and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.
