SAEDNEWS: Iran has sharply denounced Israel’s latest airstrikes on Syria, accusing Tel Aviv of violating international law while exposing alleged covert normalization talks between Israel and Damascus’s interim leadership, casting new doubt over Syria’s sovereignty.
According to Saed News, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has issued a forceful condemnation of Israel’s escalating military campaign across southern Syria, framing the recent strikes near Damascus and Sweida as deliberate breaches of international law intended to destabilize Syria’s territorial integrity. Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei warned that the United Nations Security Council’s failure to act has emboldened what he described as “barbaric murderers,” accusing Israel of targeting civilian infrastructure and drawing parallels with its actions in Gaza.
The Israeli military intensified strikes this week on high-profile Syrian targets, including the Presidential Palace entrances and the General Staff Command building in Umayyad Square, Damascus. Operations around Sweida, a strategic province with a significant Druze population, reportedly displaced thousands and left over a hundred dead. Israeli authorities, including War Minister Israel Katz, framed the attacks as “pre-emptive security measures.”
Iran’s statement also highlighted what it called a troubling duality within Syria’s interim government, led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, head of the former extremist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While condemning Israeli strikes, al-Jolani is alleged to be pursuing secret diplomatic channels with Tel Aviv. Reports suggest recent meetings between HTS envoys and Israeli National Security Council officials in the UAE and Azerbaijan, allegedly facilitated following U.S. President Donald Trump’s engagement with al-Jolani and the lifting of sanctions on Syria.
Analysts point to Israel’s focus on Syria’s Druze minority as part of a longstanding strategy to leverage sectarian divisions. Israeli forces have expanded operations deeper into Syrian territory under the pretext of protecting Druze communities, raising concerns over creeping occupation. Iran warns that these maneuvers risk fragmenting Syria along sectarian lines, echoing historic Israeli strategies to reshape West Asia’s geopolitical map.
As international scrutiny intensifies, the allegations of covert normalization efforts between Israel and Syria’s interim leadership complicate regional diplomacy, casting a long shadow over Syria’s political future.