Washington Won’t Normalize Ties with Damascus, Won’t Prevent Others from Doing So

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, speaks at a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, US, October 13, 2021. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, speaks at a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, US, October 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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Washington Won’t Normalize Ties with Damascus, Won’t Prevent Others from Doing So

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, speaks at a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, US, October 13, 2021. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accompanied by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, speaks at a joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, US, October 13, 2021. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent remarks on Syria have been the clearest American position on the war-torn country. They were clear for what they openly declared and did not, which is probably the most important.

At a press briefing alongside his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and Israel in Washington, Blinken said on Wednesday that the American priority in Syria lies in “expanding humanitarian access for people who desperately need that assistance, and we had some success, as you know, with renewing the critical corridor in northwestern Syria to do that.”

The other priority lies in “sustaining the campaign that we have with the coalition against ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria,” he said.

The third is “making clear our commitment, our ongoing commitment to demand accountability from the [Bashar] Assad regime and the preservation of basic international norms like promoting human rights and nonproliferation through the imposition of targeted sanctions; and sustaining local ceasefires, which are in place in different parts of the country,” stated Blinken.

“As we’re moving forward, in the time ahead, keeping violence down; increasing humanitarian assistance and focusing our military efforts on any terrorist groups that pose a threat to us or to our partners, with the intent and capacity to do that. These are going to be the critical areas of focus for us, and they’re also, I think, important to advancing a broader political settlement to the Syrian conflict consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” he added.

In reality, however, the gap between these statements and the developments on the ground is vast. True, the resolution to extend cross border aid was passed in July, but a meeting between American and Russian officials in Geneva revealed that Moscow was still committed to its stance. Russia has said that extending the resolution next year hinges on a report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Moscow’s satisfaction with the progress in providing assistance for the “early recovery” in Syria related to reconstruction and the delivery of aid across zones of influence.

Moreover, the gap between statements and the situation on the ground also apply to maintaining the ceasefire. True, the ceasefire has held along the frontlines for 18 months, but air strikes, clashes and provocations are ongoing, whether by Russia in northern Syria or Israel throughout the country.

Notably, Blinken made his statements weeks after Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited Moscow and ahead of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to the Russian capital next week. The PM is expected to receive reassurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel has “free reign” to crack down on Iran and Syria without harming the Russian army.

Blinken made his remarks of a “ceasefire” amid ongoing raids, clashes and drone strikes on northeastern Syria. The US continues to threaten to impose sanctions on Turkey and the Biden administration extended the national emergency executive order in Syria that was first issued in 2019 in wake of Ankara’s incursion against Kurdish forces. The administration has also assured its Kurdish alliances in Syria that US forces will remain deployed in regions east of the Euphrates in wake of the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The situation in Kurdish regions and near the border has so far, held, but Turkey has in recent days signaled it was ready for a military escalation to put an end to perceived threats from Syria.

More doubts have been cast over America’s statements and its actions. While Blinken spoke about pushing for a “broader political settlement”, the official has yet since his appointment to meet with UN special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen even though he has had opportunities to do so in Rome, New York and Washington. It is as if he were saying that the Syrian file is not important. So, it came as no surprise that Blinken failed to mention in his remarks on Wednesday the meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva on Monday.

Blinken was also expected to declare Washington’s stance from Arab attempts to normalize ties with Damascus. He said: “What we have not done and what we do not intend to do is to express any support for efforts to normalize relations or rehabilitate Mr. Assad, or lifted a single sanction on Syria or changed our position to oppose the reconstruction of Syria until there is irreversible progress toward a political solution, which we believe is necessary and vital.”

Significantly, Blinken made his statements after meeting with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and months after Jordan’s King Abdullah II had visited the US. No doubt, Amman and Abu Dhabi are very eager for rapprochement with Damascus. So, it was notable that Blinken said the US does not intend to express support for efforts to normalize ties with the regime. This stands in contrast to the former Trump administration, whereby the Biden administration will declare its position and principles, but it won’t wage a diplomatic and political campaign to discourage its allies or sanction those who veer off its stances.

This hands-off approach could be blamed on several factors, one of which is Washington’s exhaustion from the Middle East in general, and the significant resistance the Biden policy over Syria is witnessing in American institutions.

This was demonstrated when two members of Congress’ Foreign Relations Committee openly opposed Arab normalization with Damascus and demanded that Washington prevent it. Two prominent members of the committee also contacted Arab countries to warn them against rushing to normalize relations as the US heads towards midterm elections in which the Republics are tipped to make gains.



Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline for Netanyahu?

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The Iran-Israel war has helped strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically and overseas, just as his grip on power looked vulnerable.

On the eve of launching strikes on Iran, his government looked to be on the verge of collapse, with a drive to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews threatening to scupper his fragile coalition.

Nearly two years on from Hamas's unprecedented attack in 2023, Netanyahu was under growing domestic criticism for his handling of the war in Gaza, where dozens of hostages remain unaccounted for, said AFP.

Internationally too, he was coming under pressure including from longstanding allies, who since the war with Iran began have gone back to expressing support.

Just days ago, polls were predicting Netanyahu would lose his majority if new elections were held, but now, his fortunes appear to have reversed, and Israelis are seeing in "Bibi" the man of the moment.

– 'Reshape the Middle East' –

For decades, Netanyahu has warned of the risk of a nuclear attack on Israel by Iran -- a fear shared by most Israelis.

Yonatan Freeman, a geopolitics expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Netanyahu's argument that the pre-emptive strike on Iran was necessary draws "a lot of public support" and that the prime minister has been "greatly strengthened".

Even the opposition has rallied behind him.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is my political rival, but his decision to strike Iran at this moment in time is the right one," opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.

A poll published Saturday by a conservative Israeli channel showed that 54 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the prime minister.

The public had had time to prepare for the possibility of an offensive against Iran, with Netanyahu repeatedly warning that Israel was fighting for its survival and had an opportunity to "reshape the Middle East."

During tit-for-tat military exchanges last year, Israel launched air raids on targets in Iran in October that are thought to have severely damaged Iranian air defenses.

Israel's then-defense minister Yoav Gallant said the strikes had shifted "the balance of power" and had "weakened" Iran.

"In fact, for the past 20 months, Israelis have been thinking about this (a war with Iran)," said Denis Charbit, a political scientist at Israel's Open University.

Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Netanyahu has ordered military action in Gaza, against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as targets in Syria where long-time leader Bashar al-Assad fell in December last year.

"Netanyahu always wants to dominate the agenda, to be the one who reshuffles the deck himself -- not the one who reacts -- and here he is clearly asserting his Churchillian side, which is, incidentally, his model," Charbit said.

"But depending on the outcome and the duration (of the war), everything could change, and Israelis might turn against Bibi and demand answers."

– Silencing critics –

For now, however, people in Israel see the conflict with Iran as a "necessary war," according to Nitzan Perelman, a researcher specialized in Israel at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France.

"Public opinion supports this war, just as it has supported previous ones," she added.

"It's very useful for Netanyahu because it silences criticism, both inside the country and abroad."

In the weeks ahead of the Iran strikes, international criticism of Netanyahu and Israel's military had reached unprecedented levels.

After more than 55,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, and a blockade that has produced famine-like conditions there, Israel has faced growing isolation and the risk of sanctions, while Netanyahu himself is the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.

But on Sunday, two days into the war with Iran, the Israeli leader received a phone call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has held talks with numerous counterparts.

"There's more consensus in Europe in how they see Iran, which is more equal to how Israel sees Iran," explained Freeman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Israel was doing "the dirty work... for all of us."

The idea that a weakened Iran could lead to regional peace and the emergence of a new Middle East is appealing to the United States and some European countries, according to Freeman.

But for Perelman, "Netanyahu is exploiting the Iranian threat, as he always has."