According to the Financial Times, US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy on Syria Tom Barrack said that Israel's recent raid on a Syrian airbase might be an action driven by domestic political considerations, aiming to 'draw Turkey into conflict' before this year's autumn elections.
This is the most severe public criticism of the U.S. military's actions by the American official.
U.S. Ambassador Tom Barak
On Tuesday, Israel launched an air strike on the Abu Duhur Air Base in Idlib Province, northwestern Syria.
After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel was concerned that Turkey would establish military facilities at that base, thereby threatening Israel's national security. Some Israeli analysts further speculated that Turkey plans to deploy air defense radars and attack drones there.
But Barak denied this claim in an online interview on the 22nd. "These claims are baseless. There are no Turkish military assets there, and Ankara has no plans to station troops at this base."
He also proposed a more controversial assessment: given Netanyahu’s current lack of popularity in polls, Israel might be adopting a ‘highly aggressive but election-friendly’ strategy before the October elections, attempting to ‘provoke Turkey’.
The attacked Abu Dhuhur Air Base, Reuters
Baraq revealed that after the airstrike, Turkey could have easily deployed fighter jets to intercept the Israeli warplanes, which would have led to “an unnecessary escalation”. He further warned: “It could turn into the Third World War.”
He also suggested another possibility, that the air strike was due to a ‘communication breakdown’ between Netanyahu’s office, the Israel Defense Forces, and Mossad.
Barak's remarks were quickly refuted by Israel's Defense Minister Yisrael Katz. It is noteworthy that Katz chose to make the statement on a Jewish Sabbath, which is quite rare in Israeli politics.
Katz said that the Israeli military made multiple recommendations to strike the Abu Duhur base based on “clear intelligence,” as Turkey plans to carry out military operations there. He also stated that a “direct warning” was sent to the Syrian government, and that the United States was aware of this information before taking any action.
This statement was denied by Barak.
Katz also sarcastically said, "Erdogan was caught red-handed and had no choice but to retreat."
He also criticized Barak for referring to the Golan Heights as “occupied Syrian territory”, emphasizing that Trump had acknowledged Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights during his first term in office.
Since 2024, the Gaza war has caused a sharp decline in relations between Turkey and Israel. Turkey has suspended bilateral trade with Israel. Subsequently, the contradictions between the two sides have further escalated, with Syria becoming the main point of friction.
In June this year, when the Israeli military expanded its military operations in Syria and Lebanon, Erdogan publicly stated: "Turkey's security begins in Aleppo, in Damascus, and also in Beirut. We will never turn a blind eye to any attacks against our brothers."
As Turkey's influence continues to expand in the region, more and more political figures and strategic analysts in Israel are beginning to see it as a new security challenge. Some even refer to Turkey as the "new Iran".
