Senior Syrian and Israeli officials sat across the table from one another in Jordan over the weekend for the first direct, high-level talks between the two governments since February, according to multiple reports out of the region. Syria's delegation was led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, joined by the heads of Syria's general and military intelligence services. Israel sent a delegation led by Mossad chief Roman Gofman.

The meeting, first reported by Al Jazeera on Sunday, was mediated by the United States and comes six days after Israeli warplanes struck Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase in the country's northwest. Israel has described that August 18 strike as a preemptive move to stop Turkey from establishing a military presence at the base — a claim both Damascus and Ankara have denied.

The overture comes as Syria's transitional government, in power since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, continues to navigate relationships with regional powers still sorting out where they stand. Israel has carried out repeated strikes inside Syria over the past year, citing the need to prevent weapons transfers and militant buildups near its border, while Damascus has publicly signaled openness to some form of security arrangement with Israel — a striking shift after decades of formal hostility between the two states.

What's on the table

According to Gulf News, diplomatic sources say the talks centered on setting up a US-supervised "special operations room" based in Jordan to head off future confrontations inside Syria. Damascus is pushing for Israel to pull back to positions it held before December 2024 and for a full return to the 1974 disengagement agreement that has governed the Golan Heights for half a century. Israel, for its part, wants guarantees that Turkey won't move troops or hardware into Syria and that the Golan buffer zone stays demilitarized.

SYRIA WANTS TO STAY OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF AN ISRAEL-TURKEY STANDOFF

The stakes go beyond the Syria-Israel relationship itself. Turkey has expanded its military footprint in Syria since the fall of the Assad government, and Israeli officials have grown increasingly wary of a Turkish presence near its northern border. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera say Damascus is trying to avoid being squeezed between two more powerful neighbors as it works to keep Syria's fragile transitional government intact.

Sunday's session marks the resumption of contacts that froze in February after an earlier round produced no breakthrough. Neither side has indicated a firm timeline for a follow-up meeting, though officials on both sides described the talks as constructive. What happens next likely hinges on whether Washington can get both governments to agree to concrete monitoring arrangements before the next flare-up — and whether Turkey's own posture in northern Syria shifts in the meantime.