by Barak Ravid at Axios
The Trump administration is concerned that Israel’s repeated strikes inside Syria risk destabilizing the country and undermining hopes of an Israel-Syria security agreement, two senior U.S. officials tell Axios.
“We are trying to tell Bibi he has to stop this because if it continues he will self-destruct,” one of those officials said, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname.
The big picture: Supporting President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to stabilize Syria and encouraging him to engage in a peace process with Israel are key elements of the Trump administration’s Middle East strategy.
- President Trump and his team have repeatedly sided with Syria’s government in disputes with Israel— the only country in the region for which that’s the case.
- On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social in support of al-Sharaa and said it was “very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State.”
- The U.S. officials made clear they think Netanyahu is interfering in very unhelpful ways. He has ordered military action across the border in Syria on several occasions, including in the past few days.
Driving the news: Israeli forces conducting a raid less than 10 miles into Syrian territory on Friday came under fire from unknown gunmen after arresting suspected militants, with six Israeli soldiers injured, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)…
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