As Donald Trump’s tariffs dominate the headlines, in the Middle East, Israel is stepping up its campaign against Syria. Israeli air strikes hit targets across the country, including the T4 airbase in Homs, last night. The latest campaign which has been conducted over the last few months – involving dozens of air strikes and the deployment of troops – is a big escalation.
The strikes in Syria overnight were intended to deter Turkey from making use of bases inside the country. The bombings were to ‘convey a message to Turkey,’ an Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post.
Turkey has made much of its closeness to the new leadership of Syria. It had an uneasy relationship with the now-dissolved Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) when the Islamists were in opposition, bottled up in Syria’s north. But now HTS’s former leadership is in power in Damascus, Turkey is determined to be an important player. It is talking up Turkish intelligence and material support for the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad, facilitating much of the diplomacy that introduces Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa to the wider world.
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