Türkiye

Syria is considering joining the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, but has not decided, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani says.

"We don't have a decision right now whether to join or not to join this alliance."

Fresh satellite imagery shows the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Syria’s Abu al Duhur airbase, with 4 impact points visible on runways recently renovated with Turkish assistance.

Credit: Reuters, Pleiades Neo
@ItayBlumental

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter to the Jerusalem Post: "We are not seeking escalation or war with either Turkey or Syria. But a red line was crossed."

Leiter said Israel had received clear intelligence indicating that Turkey intended to significantly expand its military presence in Syria, which Israel viewed as a blatant Turkish violation.

"Those who needed to be exposed to the intelligence received it."

Israeli Defense Minister Katz warns Erdogan directly in Turkish:

‘Don’t test Israel’

I break down what’s happening between Israel and Turkey, why Israel struck a Syrian airbase, and why things just got heated.

Article below 👇🏻

Turkey's Director of Presidential Communications responded to the Israeli strike on a northern Syria air base, tied to a reported Turkish military delegation visit: "We will not fall into Netanyahu's trap."

Ankara denies the delegation was there.

Turkish Defence Ministry: "Our efforts and contributions to protect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to achieve a stable and secure structure will continue resolutely."

Turkish Defence Ministry: No Turkish military delegation was present at the Syrian air base at any point before or during Israel's air strikes.

Turkish Defence Ministry: "It is essential for the international community to take more concrete and effective measures against Israel's actions."

Saudi General Mohammed Saleh Al-Harbi:

"Turkey is a reliable partner and ally. Saudi-Turkish relations are highly advanced. We have major Turkish projects and a military partnership with Bayraktar. The IMEC progress is futile propaganda. Israel should not be given added economic value."

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz to Erdogan:

"You are dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria. Israel will not allow any actor to threaten its security. Erdogan would be better off continuing his detached, fantasy-driven rhetoric against Israel in the Turkish parliament than testing Israel's resolve to defend itself."

Israeli PM Netanyahu:

We will not tolerate a Turkish military foothold in Syria that threatens Israel.

We made the message clear: Don’t.

Apparently they didn’t hear it well enough, so we made sure they understand it better.

Mossad chief Roman Gofman held a call with Syrian FM Asaad al-Shaibani on August 14. Turkey's military presence in Syria was on the agenda.

Turkey and Syria sign MOU on mining and energy partnership. - Turkish minister

A Syrian source close to the regime tells i24NEWS that Israel's strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase will only deepen Turkey's involvement in Syria.

"We do not want any foreign forces on our land, but Israel must understand that the more it threatens Syria, the more the Syrian government will align itself with Turkey. The Israeli government is getting the opposite result of what it hopes to achieve."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee: the Saudi–Türkiye–Pakistan Mecca Alliance is not destabilizing, and the three "don't seem to have a desire to start any conflict." - Al Arabiya

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee:

"Washington is working to establish a mechanism to prevent conflicts between Israel, Turkey and Syria. Hamas has not yet delivered a single weapon; Trump may consider military action against Iran."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured the Israeli-held buffer zone in southern Syria this morning. He was joined by senior officers and met with reservists operating in the area.

The visit follows a rare IDF strike a day earlier on a Syrian airbase where Israel says Turkey planned to deploy forces.

@manniefabian

A drone hit a police station overnight in Arsin, in Turkey's Trabzon province on the Black Sea coast. No casualties reported. Turkish media.

Pakistan's FM to meet Saudi, Egyptian and Turkish counterparts in Istanbul this month.

The strike on a Syrian airbase "carried a real risk of rapid escalation into a direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey as well as Syria," U.S. special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack tells the Jerusalem Post.

Barrack: Turkish forces did not know Israeli aircraft were en route to the base or their purpose, and could have scrambled their own jets believing they were under attack.

US Special Envoy for Syria Barrack: A deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Turkey is actively being worked on. He said the recent Israeli strikes on a Syrian airbase reflect the perception that Turkey may increase its presence there in the near future.

U.S. envoy Barrack: Turkey was not warned of the Israeli strikes and could have reasonably prepared its own response. Work is underway on a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Turkey.

Turkish official to Axios:

There was no Turkish presence at the air base. Israel is inventing excuses to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region.

Israeli jets reportedly hit Abu al-Duhur Air Base in eastern Idlib with four airstrikes overnight, targeting the runway.

The Turkish Foreign Minister condemned the overnight attack on the base in Syria and accused Israel of carrying it out.

A report in the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadid claims the Israeli strikes on Abu al-Dahour airport in northwestern Syria were carried out after a Turkish military delegation visited the site for the purpose of restoring the runway.