Mossad Chief Gofman Called Syrian Foreign Minister to Discuss Turkish Military Deployments Before Israeli Strikes on Syrian Airbase

Mossad director Roman Gofman held a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on August 14, in which Turkey's military presence in Syria dominated the discussion, according to three sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters 123. One source said the call centered on Israeli inquiries into Turkish force increases, arms sales, and drone provisioning, while a second, described as a senior official, said Gofman asked specifically about Turkish arms transfers to Syria's army 1. Reuters characterized the call as one of the highest-level contacts yet between Israel and the Sharaa government 13. Four days later, on Tuesday, Israel struck Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase, with Netanyahu saying Damascus had been on the verge of allowing Turkish troops to deploy there despite Israeli warnings 4.