Syrian Presidency: SDF Call for Federalism Threatens the Country’s Unity, Safety 

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends an interview with Reuters at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends an interview with Reuters at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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Syrian Presidency: SDF Call for Federalism Threatens the Country’s Unity, Safety 

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends an interview with Reuters at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends an interview with Reuters at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2025. (Reuters)

Syria's leaders said on Sunday that Kurdish demands for the country to adopt a decentralized system of government in a post-Assad political order posed a threat to national unity.

"We clearly reject any attempt to impose a partition or create separatist cantons under the terms of federalism or self-autonomy without a national consensus," Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's office said in a statement.

"The unity of Syrian territory and its people is a red line," the statement said.

Rival Syrian Kurdish parties, including the dominant faction in the Kurdish-run northeast, agreed at a meeting in Syria's Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli on Saturday on a common political vision for Syria's Kurdish minority.

A communique at the end of the conference, which was attended by US officials, demanded that a future Syrian constitution should enshrine respect for Kurdish national rights in Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

"A joint Kurdish political vision has been formulated that expresses a collective will and its project for a just solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria as a decentralized democratic state," the pan-Kurdish statement said.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US, last month signed a deal with Damascus on merging Kurdish-led governing bodies and security forces with the central government.

The Syrian presidency's statement also said recent statements by SDF leaders advocating a federal solution went clearly against that deal.

The agreement with the SDF could be a "constructive step forward if it was implemented with national spirit, away from narrow agendas," it continued.

It warned against obstructing state institutions in regions held by the SDF and against imposing a monopoly on resources. "The SDF leadership cannot take unilateral decisions in northeastern Syria. There can be no stability and no future without real partnership," it declared.

During the 14-year civil war, Kurdish-led groups took control of roughly a quarter of Syrian territory, where most of the country's oil wealth is found along with fertile arable land that produces a major proportion of the country's wheat.

Kurdish officials have objected to the way Syria's new rulers are shaping the transition from Assad's rule, saying they are failing to respect Syria's diversity despite promises of inclusivity.

The presidency statement stressed that "Kurdish rights are being protected under the one state, without the need for foreign intervention or hegemony." It called on the SDF to commit to the agreement reached in March and to prioritize national interests.



27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
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27 Inmates are Still at Large Following an Israeli Airstrike during the 12-day War, Iran says

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 24, 2025, rescuers search through the rubble of a damaged section of Evin Prison following an Israeli strike the day before, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Mostafa Roudaki/Mizan News Agency)

Iran said Tuesday 27 inmates were still at large after an Israeli airstrike last month targeted Evin prison in the north of the capital, Tehran, local media reported.

The airstrikes were part of Israel’s 12-day bombardment of Iran that killed about 1,100 people. while 28 were left dead in Israel in Iranian retaliatory strikes, The Associated Press said.

Judiciary’s news website, Mizanonline, quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying 75 prisoners had escaped following the strike, of which 48 were either recaptured or voluntarily returned. He said authorities will detain the others if they don't hand themselves over.

Jahangir said the escapees were prisoners doing time for minor offenses.

Iranian officials said the Israeli strike killed 71 people, but local media reported earlier in July that 80 were left dead at the time, including prison staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members. Authorities also said five inmates died.

It’s unclear why Israel targeted the prison. The Israeli Defense Ministry had said that 50 aircraft dropped 100 munitions on military targets “based on high-quality and accurate intelligence from the Intelligence Branch.”

The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.