Tom Barrack: Israel and Türkiye Were One Step from Direct Military Confrontation
The US envoy said an Israeli strike on Syria’s Abu Zuhour air base brought Israel and Türkiye close to a direct military confrontation, as Washington urged restraint.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - US envoy Tom Barrack said Israel and Türkiye came within one step of a direct military confrontation following an Israeli strike on Abu Zuhour air base in Syria, warning that the escalation had brought the two countries close to a direct war.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 15, Barrack said on Tuesday, that Israel and Türkiye had been only one step away from a direct military confrontation.
Barrack said the Israeli airstrike on Abu Zuhour air base by Israeli fighter jets represented a warning of a potential direct war between Tel Aviv and Ankara.
According to Axios, citing US and Israeli officials, the Israeli government informed White House officials before carrying out the strike in Syria.
Israel told Washington that the objective of the attack was to prevent Türkiye from building up military forces and sending advanced weapons systems to Syria.
At least eight bombs struck aircraft runways and several aircraft hangars at Abu Zuhour air base in northern Syria. The strike damaged runways that had recently been renovated, but caused no casualties.
A Turkish official, speaking to Axios, rejected claims that Türkiye had forces stationed at the Syrian air base. The official also accused Israel of creating pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and undermine regional stability.
The Turkish presidency said in a statement that claims made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were intended solely to justify what it described as illegal airstrikes.
Ankara stressed that it would continue cooperating with the Syrian government to establish security and stability, while emphasizing that it would not allow Syria to fall into instability.
Several US officials told Reuters that they believed some of the motives behind Israel’s strike were linked to the country’s October elections, arguing that the Syrian government had taken no hostile action against Israel.
Reuters also reported that the Trump administration had called on the Syrian government to exercise restraint.
The developments have placed Israel-Türkiye tensions under heightened scrutiny, with Barrack’s warning underscoring how close the confrontation came to direct military escalation.