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Israel Ties Syria Normalization to Retaining Golan Heights

An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)
An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)
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Israel Ties Syria Normalization to Retaining Golan Heights

An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)
An Israeli soldier stands along the edge of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights (File photo – AFP)

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he would not rule out normalizing ties with Syria, but stressed that any such agreement must guarantee continued Israeli control over the Golan Heights.

Speaking to Israel’s i24NEWS, Sa’ar said: “If there’s an opportunity for a peace agreement or normalization with Syria - provided the Golan remains in our hands- it would be a positive step for Israel’s future.”

His remarks came amid growing speculation that a normalization deal between Israel and Syria could be reached by the end of the year.

The Israeli channel quoted a “well-informed Syrian source” as saying the two countries are expected to sign a peace agreement before the end of 2025.

According to the source, the deal would include a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all Syrian territory it seized following the incursion into the buffer zone on December 8, 2024 — including the summit of Mount Hermon.

The same source said the historic agreement would fully normalize relations between the two countries and transform the Golan Heights into a “peace park.”

Neither Israeli nor Syrian officials have confirmed the report. However, other Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit to the United States next month is expected to focus on a framework for normalization with Syria, potentially under an expanded version of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Channel 12 reported cautious optimism in Washington about a broader normalization deal tied to ending the war in Gaza and widening the Abraham Accords.

Israeli officials believe a key to expanding regional normalization lies in securing a firm commitment from US President Donald Trump to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.

According to the network, a limited expansion of the Abraham Accords that includes Syria may be feasible in the near term, but Netanyahu is reportedly aiming for a more comprehensive regional deal.

Channel 12 quoted Netanyahu as saying: “Victory in Iran opens the door to expanding peace agreements, releasing the hostages, and defeating Hamas. We are working seriously toward this. Alongside the release of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas, there is a golden opportunity we must not miss — the expansion of peace. Not a single day should be wasted.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is expected to arrive in Washington on Monday ahead of Netanyahu to discuss Iran, the Gaza war, and to coordinate the Israeli premier’s visit.

A US official said Netanyahu’s trip is likely to take place in the second half of July. Optimism in Israel is reportedly based on a Trump plan to end the Gaza war and usher in a new phase of regional diplomacy under an expanded Abraham Accords framework.

Israeli sources also told Israel Hayom that Trump and Netanyahu have agreed to end the Gaza war within two weeks and then move forward with signing new peace deals with Arab states.

 

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Arab World

Two Drones Shot Down Near US Embassy in Baghdad, Sparking Security Alert

The US Embassy building in Baghdad. (Iraqi News Agency)
The US Embassy building in Baghdad. (Iraqi News Agency)
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Two Drones Shot Down Near US Embassy in Baghdad, Sparking Security Alert

The US Embassy building in Baghdad. (Iraqi News Agency)
The US Embassy building in Baghdad. (Iraqi News Agency)

Air defenses at the US Embassy in Baghdad shot down two suspected reconnaissance drones over the heavily fortified Green Zone on Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said, triggering a security alert in the capital.

The sources said the drones were believed to be unarmed and intended for surveillance.

The embassy sounded its alarms as the aircraft flew over the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign diplomatic missions.

Iraq’s Security Media Cell, however, reported the interception of only one unidentified drone.

“The sound heard in Baghdad resulted from the interception of an unidentified aircraft near the Green Zone,” Lieutenant General Saad Maan, head of the cell, said in a statement.

Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat they heard two loud explosions near the interception sites, while residents reported finding drone wreckage near Al-Rasheed Street in Baghdad’s old city center.

Reuters cited two security sources as saying the embassy’s air defenses were activated after detecting the drones approaching the Green Zone. Both were shot down, with wreckage recovered at separate locations.

Security forces were investigating their origin and intended destination, the sources added.

The US Embassy has faced rocket and drone attacks since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that debris was scattered around the Green Zone, the Shorja market, Al-Rasheed Street and the Kadhimiya district. No civilian casualties or injuries were reported.

The incident marked the first breach of its kind in the area in many months. In previous years, the Green Zone had repeatedly come under attacks targeting the US Embassy and other diplomatic missions, often blamed on Iran-backed armed factions.

Motives

The incident came less than a month after the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, whose presence armed factions had long cited to justify attacks on diplomatic and military facilities.

The purpose of the drone flights remains unclear.

Some observers linked the incident to tensions between Washington and Tehran, while others suggested it could be political signaling between rival groups within the Coordination Framework and armed factions.

Baghdad launched a campaign months ago to bring factional weapons under state control and integrate armed groups into the security forces.

The initiative was initially due to be completed by September 30, coinciding with the coalition’s withdrawal, but the government later postponed the deadline until June 2027.

While some factions have complied, others continue to oppose the plan, including the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah.

The group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq had previously pledged to support Iran if the United States resumed its war in the region.

Arab World

Al-Sharaa: Syrian-Iraqi Borders Are Completely Secure, ISIS Threats Have Dropped

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. (AFP)
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. (AFP)
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Al-Sharaa: Syrian-Iraqi Borders Are Completely Secure, ISIS Threats Have Dropped

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. (AFP)
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. (AFP)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stressed on Tuesday that the Syrian-Iraqi borders are completely secure, saying joint coordination was underway between the two neighbors.

In an interview with Iraq’s Dijlah TV, he added that the threats posed by the ISIS terrorist group have dropped, saying that no organization currently presents a danger to the two countries.

Al-Sharaa also said he welcomes a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Syria. The Syrian and Iraqi governments are in agreement over several issues that bind them.

Iraqi media have reported that al-Zaidi is set to kick off an official visit to Syria on Wednesday. He will visit at the head of a large ministerial delegation to discuss bilateral ties, and issues related to water, oil and trade between the two countries.

The relationship with Iraq is not based on sectarian or ethnic considerations but on shared history and deep economic ties, al-Sharaa stressed.

He said visiting the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab is available while ensuring security conditions, noting that individuals who tried to exploit the issue to stir sectarian strife have been arrested.

"Syria does not view Iraq through a sectarian lens. We share a great deal in common, and social relations between Iraq and Syria have remained healthy for years. Since we came to power, Baghdad's policies have been positive, despite attempts by some factions to adopt differing stances,” al-Sharaa said.

“I did not intervene in any sectarian conflict in Iraq following the events of 2003. I was released from prison in Iraq in 2011, after which I returned to Syria,” he remarked.

"Syria’s stability is in the interest of Iraq and vice versa. We must build upon our common ground and establish an appropriate environment for relations, free of fears. What unites us is greater than what divides us, and we have had enough of wars and disputes. I have not assaulted any civilian in Iraq," he declared.

“We are communicating with international companies to connect the Baniyas pipeline to oil refineries, and memorandums of understanding have been signed between Syria and Iraq regarding the Baniyas–Kirkuk pipeline,” al-Sharaa went on to say.

“Syria is Iraq's gateway and maritime outlet, serving as the strategic route to the West. Syria is considered Iraq's gateway to the Mediterranean Sea for oil exports,” he noted.

Arab World

Yemeni Govt Forces Press Advance on Houthis Near Bab al-Mandeb, in Taiz

A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a machine gun balanced on a motorcycle at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a machine gun balanced on a motorcycle at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
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Yemeni Govt Forces Press Advance on Houthis Near Bab al-Mandeb, in Taiz

A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a machine gun balanced on a motorcycle at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a machine gun balanced on a motorcycle at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

Fighting spread across Yemen on Tuesday as government forces renewed their push against remaining Houthi pockets near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, while battles raged around Taiz amid heavy airstrikes on Houthi positions, reinforcements and supply lines.

Government forces reported gains in several strategic positions.

Fierce clashes erupted near Bab al-Mandeb between the Houthis and government forces backed by the Giants Brigades, Nation's Shield Forces and Tihama Brigades, as troops battled to seize hills overlooking the vital waterway.

The fighting coincided with airstrikes on Houthi positions around the port city of Mokha and along Yemen's western coast.

Government military sources said troops captured strategic hilltops after attacking Houthi positions, killing and wounding fighters and forcing others to flee by boat.

Preliminary reports pointed to strikes on boats and maritime supplies believed to be used by the Houthis to ferry reinforcements and equipment to positions near the strait.

Sources in the Nation's Shield Forces dismissed reports that the Houthis had seized the Kahboub mountains, saying their troops remained deployed at Dhubab Airport and across the surrounding mountain range.

A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government operates a turret from the back of a pickup truck at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

Government forces push forward in Taiz

Battles continued across Taiz city and its surrounding countryside, with airstrikes pounding Houthi positions, troop concentrations and reinforcements as government forces and local resistance fighters sought to strengthen their positions and thwart Houthi advances.

Government military sources said troops seized Mount al-Midan after fierce fighting backed by airstrikes. Field sources said government troops and local fighters also established fire control over in areas along the Al-Dhabab road.

Troops had begun clearing, securing and consolidating their newly captured positions, said Yemeni army Colonel Abdulbasit al-Bahr.

But government forces met stiff resistance near the Old Airport military camp and the Madrat area, where heavy fire and heavy weapons thwarted their attempts to advance, he revealed.

He reported Houthi fighters killed, wounded and captured, along with military vehicles destroyed or set ablaze.

Heavy clashes also broke out on the Shaqab and Al-Aqroud fronts, with both sides exchanging fire using various weapons. Government sources said troops repelled a Houthi attack in Al-Aqroud.

Authorities in Taiz said Houthi sniper fire killed five civilians and wounded five others, including children, in the villages of Hamma, Al-Damna and nearby communities. Shelling also struck residential neighborhoods on the city's outskirts. Local sources reported airstrikes near Taiz Airport and across several areas of the province.

A fighter loyal to Yemen's legitimate government fires a turret from the back of a pickup truck at a position along the frontlines against the Houthis around Mount al-Midan in Yemen's western Taiz province on October 26, 2026. (AFP)

1,276 strikes

Yemen's armed forces said they carried out 1,276 strikes in 24 hours under Operation Dawn of Yemen, targeting Houthi military capabilities across multiple fronts in an indication of the widening campaign.

Military spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili said the strikes targeted command-and-control centers, defensive positions, firing positions, reinforcements, transport and supply vehicles, and weapons and ammunition depots.

Strikes also hit targets deeper inside Houthi-held territory in an effort to disrupt the group's ability to direct operations and regroup its forces, he said.

The military said the operations had neutralized about 382 Houthi commanders and fighters, destroyed or disabled 140 military vehicles and heavy weapons, and destroyed weapons and ammunition depots.

Nuzaili said simultaneous operations were continuing across Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Bayda and the southern and southwestern fronts, targeting Houthi movements, defenses and supply lines.

The aim, he said, was to restrict the Houthis' ability to move reserves and concentrate forces on a single front.

As fighting intensified, government officials and rights groups raised alarms over the impact of shelling and the siege on civilians in Taiz.

Yemen's Human Rights Ministry condemned attacks on densely populated neighborhoods with mortar shells, Katyusha rockets and ballistic missiles.

It urged the international community to act to halt the attacks, lift the siege and hold those responsible for targeting civilians and civilian property accountable.

On the diplomatic front, Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani discussed the military escalation and its humanitarian fallout with European Union Ambassador to Yemen Patrick Simonnet, including the continuing siege of Taiz and attacks on civilian facilities.

Zindani urged international pressure to end the Houthi siege and reopen roads for civilians and humanitarian aid.

He also pointed to the European Commission's allocation of an additional 22.5 million euros in humanitarian assistance for Yemen.