Overview

• Israel has presented a mapped plan for multi-tier demilitarized and no-fly zones southwest of Damascus, extending the buffer and restricting Syrian heavy forces while retaining a Mount Hermon outpost and an aerial corridor toward Iran, according to reports.
• President Ahmed al-Sharaa called a pact a necessity and said any deal must respect Syrian airspace and territorial unity with UN monitoring, as Damascus seeks an end to Israeli strikes and withdrawals of Israeli troops from southern Syria.
• Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli minister Ron Dermer met in London for five hours with US envoy Tom Barrack, and Syrian officials are preparing a counterproposal to Israel’s draft.
• Barrack has cautioned that the parties are not close to signing even as Washington pushes for a preliminary security understanding ahead of the UN General Assembly.
• Regional media have claimed “95% agreement” and floated late-September signing dates, but those reports are unverified and conflict with more cautious statements from officials.