Israel’s unannounced airstrike on a Syrian airbase near Türkiye’s border created a serious risk of military miscalculation between the two countries, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has said.
In an interview with PBS NewsHour on Aug. 21, Barrack said Israeli aircraft approached to within about 80 kilometers of Türkiye’s border without Ankara receiving advance notice.
He said Israel had told Washington and Damascus for the preceding five days that it was concerned Türkiye might place military personnel or equipment at Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria.
Washington consulted its intelligence agencies, while Syrian officials told Mossad that no Turkish troops, convoy or weapons were at the facility and that no hostile activity was underway, according to Barrack.
The sides expected the dialogue to continue, but Israel struck the base on Aug. 18, damaging its runways.
“The attack was unannounced,” Barrack said, adding that “avoiding kinetic interaction or surprises is the goal.”
In a separate Reuters interview after the strike, Barrack said Türkiye saw aircraft flying north toward its territory and could “reasonably have prepared its own response.”
“Thankfully, calm heads were able to prevent the situation from deteriorating further,” he said.
Barrack said Washington understood Israel’s security concerns but had seen no hostile or aggressive move by Türkiye or Syria.
He urged Israel to address its concerns through direct or back-channel talks with Ankara instead of unilateral military action.
Israel acknowledged the strike after Barrack described it as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was intended to prevent a Turkish troop deployment and accused Syria of nearing a breach of what Israel described as a security status quo.
Both Ankara and Damascus have denied plans to establish a Turkish base or permanent military presence at Abu al-Duhur.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said no Turkish military delegation was at the base before or during the attack.
It also said Ankara would continue supporting Syria’s efforts to rebuild its infrastructure and military capacity under the principle of “one state, one army.”
Türkiye and Syria signed a memorandum on joint military training and consultancy on Aug. 13, 2025.
Turkish officials have said its implementation covers training, consultancy, technical assistance and reciprocal visits aimed at strengthening Syria’s defense capacity.
Türkiye says its assistance is provided at the request of the Syrian government and is intended to reinforce the country’s unity, territorial integrity and ability to combat terrorism.
Rhetoric between Türkiye and Israel intensified on Aug. 21 after Netanyahu’s office directed accusations to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Türkiye’s Communications Directorate rejected the remarks as lacking “historical facts and political seriousness” and accused the Israeli government of portraying Türkiye as a threat for electoral gain.
Barrack said much of the hostile rhetoric was political and noted that Israel was in an election cycle.
He called for lower tensions and a return to dialogue.
