Israel received intelligence on Turkey’s Syria military expansion plan: Envoy Leiter says ‘red line’ was crossed

JERUSALEM: Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, on Thursday (local time) said Israel had received clear intelligence indicating that Turkey intended to significantly expand its military presence in Syria, describing the move as crossing a “red line”, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“We are not seeking escalation or war with either Turkey or Syria. But a red line was crossed”, Leiter told The Jerusalem Post in an interview. His remarks came after Israel carried out strikes in Syria, drawing criticism from both Syrian and Turkish governments.

“This was supposed to be a blatant Turkish violation of the understandings”, Leiter said. “Those who needed to be exposed to the intelligence received it. Those who needed to know what was coming knew. We made clear that this was a violation of our understandings — and that is why Israel acted as it did”, he added.

According to Leiter, Israel’s decision to strike the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria, near Aleppo on Tuesday, was taken after warnings over the alleged Turkish move were not heeded. Syrian officials said the airfield was hit in at least eight strikes, while satellite imagery later showed damage to runways, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel struck Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase after intelligence indicated Turkey planned to significantly expand its military presence there, crossing an Israeli “red line,” Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told The Jerusalem Post.

Leiter said Israel warned… pic.twitter.com/gEPhLmjCv9

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) August 21, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said, “Israel made the message clear: Don’t”. Leiter said the alleged Turkish move contradicted understandings reached during the Biden administration between Israel and the administration of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which had “frozen the existing situation” in Syria.

He said these understandings were reaffirmed at a meeting in Paris in January 2026 attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, US Syria envoy Tom Barrack, Leiter, then-National Security Council chief Gil Reich, and Netanyahu’s military secretary Roman Gofman, who is now Mossad director, according to The Jerusalem Post.

“The freeze means that just as the Turks don’t move, neither do we – and they don’t force us to withdraw,” Leiter said. “And it is important to understand that while we are sitting on only 78 sq. miles in Syria, in a security zone, the Turks have carried out a creeping annexation of 3,500 sq. miles in northern Syria over the past several years — about 5% of the country’s territory,” he added.

Leiter said senior US officials, except US Syria envoy and ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, had not condemned the Israeli strike in Syria. “The administration’s policy is that the freeze agreed upon in the past will continue, which is why even Trump did not condemn the strike,” he said, as per The Jerusalem Post.

Despite tensions, Leiter said Israel believed Syria was not seeking confrontation. “It is clear to us that the Syrians do not want a confrontation with us,” he said. “That is why we are telling the Turks not to create conflicts. There is more than one indication that the move planned by Turkey was imposed on the Syrians,” Leiter added.

According to The Jerusalem Post, he also pointed to differences between Turkish and Syrian statements following the strike. “While Syrian Foreign Minister Shaibani acknowledged that there had been a Turkish delegation in Syria several days before the strike, the Turks denied it. They should sort it out among themselves,” Leiter said.

The ambassador said Israel was open to resuming direct talks with Syria, provided conditions were suitable. “The negotiations can be renewed. We want to continue the face-to-face dialogue that we previously held with the Syrians,” he said.

On ties with Turkey, Leiter said Israel was also open to dialogue with Ankara but criticised statements made by Turkish leaders against Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported. “We are certainly open to dialogue with them, but according to statements by senior officials in the country, they would prefer to wipe Israel off the map,” he said.

Leiter was referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s repeated accusations against Israel and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statement that “Israel is a stain on humanity.” “At a time when Turkey is hosting Hamas leaders and transferring funds to Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran’s arm against Israel, it is not appropriate for them to begin expanding their influence in Lebanon and Syria,” Leiter said.

“Under the current circumstances, Turkey cannot be a force that helps calm the region. I wish we could return to the situation of several decades ago in relations between Jerusalem and Ankara. Then, we would be open to Turkish influence in the region. But it is not logical for Turkish influence in the region to grow while Turkey is funding terrorist organizations”, he added, as reported by The Jerusalem Post. (ANI)