Overview
- Reuters reports, citing six sources including Western and Syrian officials, that the United States is preparing to use a Damascus airbase to help enable and monitor a proposed Israel–Syria security pact.
- Pentagon reconnaissance missions over the past two months assessed the runway as ready for immediate use, with Syrian officials and a base guard saying U.S. C-130s conducted test landings.
- Technical discussions have focused on logistics, surveillance, refueling and humanitarian operations with Syria retaining sovereignty over the facility.
- Syria’s Foreign Ministry publicly denied any U.S. deployment plan in a statement carried by state media, leaving key details contested.
- No timeline for sending personnel has been disclosed, as the reported planning coincides with President Donald Trump’s scheduled White House meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and follows a September 12 CENTCOM visit to Damascus, with Washington framing posture decisions as tied to the fight against ISIS.