U.S. Middle East Diplomacy

Israel continues to hold and patrol a roughly 155‑square‑mile zone inside southern Syria, carrying out arrests, weapons seizures and frequent airstrikes that it says protect its security and which have fueled hawkish rhetoric at home. The Trump administration, pressing for quick engagement with new Syrian president Ahmed al‑Sharaa and offering verification or peacekeeping roles (and even talk of folding Syria into broader regional deals), has privately warned Israel to curb strikes and pursue accommodation even as Netanyahu says a deal is possible only if Damascus respects an Israeli buffer zone and Syria demands withdrawal and recommitment to the 1974 truce.