Mossad Chief Discusses Turkey with Syrian Minister

Roman Gofman, head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, spoke by phone last week with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani about Turkey’s military presence in Syria, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The call took place on 14 August, several days before Israel launched airstrikes on a Syrian military airbase in the north of the country on Tuesday, the sources said.

The conversation marked one of the highest-level contacts between Israel and Syria’s new government since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The Israeli prime minister’s office, which handles matters related to Mossad, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did a spokesperson for al-Shaibani.

(Reuters, max)