Syria's al-Sharaa: Israel security deal could lead to peace
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- Ahmed al-Sharaa revealed Syria is working toward a security agreement with Israel involving several countries, framing it as a potential gateway to broader peace but pledging it will not compromise Syria's claim to the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1973.
- Al-Sharaa ruled out any Syrian military intervention in Lebanon and said Damascus is backing efforts to consolidate weapons and war-and-peace decisions under the Lebanese state, addressing what he called repeated rumours of intervention.
- Al-Sharaa warned that potential expansion of the US-Israel war on Iran would produce severe regional fallout and that chaos in Lebanon would have direct, immediate repercussions on Syria.
- Al-Sharaa said lifting US economic sanctions alone would not be effective unless Syria is simultaneously removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
- Al-Sharaa acknowledged a delay in implementing the agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls parts of northern and eastern Syria, but affirmed the government's full commitment to the deal.
- Al-Sharaa announced a new committee to manage the issue of people missing during Syria's 2011-2024 war, with the UN estimating 100,000 forcibly disappeared and Syria's National Commission on Missing Persons believing the figure could reach 300,000.
Why it matters: Coming after repeated Israeli strikes in southern Syria since Assad's December 2024 fall, al-Sharaa's pursuit of a security deal is tempered by his insistence it not compromise the Golan Heights and his refusal to intervene militarily in Lebanon — Syria is seeking security without surrendering core territorial claims.
