US begins 'preliminary discussions' with Israel, Syria on security deal: Report
Iran Press TV
Tuesday, 01 July 2025 2:55 PM
The administration of US President Donald Trump has reportedly begun preliminary talks with Israel and Syria to help them reach a potential security agreement, with Tel Aviv pressing for assurances that the negotiations ultimately lead to a full peace deal and normalization.
The Virginia-based news website Axios, citing unnamed US and Israeli officials, reported on Monday that the talks are focused on reducing tensions between the two sides and ensuring border security.
The report went on to say that Washington "favors a gradual process that would slowly build trust and improve relations between Israel and Syria."
"We are having very soft preliminary discussions," said a senior US official.
The talks currently involve mid-level officials with no discussions yet of a leaders' summit, said another US official.
Two senior Israeli officials also noted that a deal remains possible but emphasized that making tangible progress in the negotiations would take some time.
A senior Israeli official said the regime is aiming for phased agreements starting with a revised version of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Damascus and Tel Aviv, which defines the boundaries of a buffer zone separating the Golan Heights from Syria.
The agreement was signed after Israel seized the strategic territory during a Western-backed war seven years earlier.
Axios said Tel Aviv views the Israeli-occupied buffer zone and more Syrian territory it occupied following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024 as primary negotiating leverage. Axios said withdrawal from these areas would only occur in exchange for complete peace and normalization.
The Israeli media outlet i24 News, citing a Syrian source with direct knowledge of the matter, recently reported that Israel and Syria are nearing a peace agreement expected to be signed before the end of 2025.
According to the report, the deal envisions a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all Syrian territories it seized after invading the buffer zone on December 8, 2024, including the peak of Mount Hermon.
Since the collapse of Assad's government, the Israeli military has been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria's now-defunct army.
The regime has also intensified its aggression on Syria by initiating an unlawful land appropriation beyond the occupied Golan Heights in what is seen as a component of the so-called "Greater Israel" project.
Separately on Monday, the US said it may remove the HTS from its terror list, after Trump signed an executive order to ease Washington's unilateral sanctions against Syria.
The US State Department announced in a statement that it will review the terror designation of HTS and consider fully suspending the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, in line with a directive by Donald Trump.
The statement further stated that it will also review the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations of HTS and Syria's self-proclaimed president Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, as well as Syria's State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, while exploring further sanctions relief through the UN.
"Today's actions mark the beginning of a new chapter for the people of Syria as they work to shape a future that is safe, stable, and successful," the statement said.
The HTS militant group seized control of Damascus on December 8, following a swift offensive that had begun in the northwestern province of Aleppo just two weeks earlier.
Jolani, head of HTS-led administration, has recently expressed readiness to normalize ties between Syria and Israel amid Washington's plans to revoke anti-Damascus sanctions and Israel's occupation of more Syrian land.
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