US to establish military presence in Damascus to monitor potential Israel-Syria security pact

The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, Report informs via The Times of Israel.

The US plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which have not previously been reported, would be a sign of Syria's strategic realignment with the US following the fall last year of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.

The base sits at the gateway to parts of southern Syria that are expected to make up a demilitarized zone as part of a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria. That deal is being mediated by US President Donald Trump's administration.

Trump will meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, the first such visit by a Syrian head of state.

Reuters spoke to six sources familiar with preparations at the base, including two Western officials and a Syrian defense official, who confirm the US is planning to use the base to help monitor a potential Israel-Syria agreement.

The Pentagon and Syrian foreign ministry do not immediately respond to requests for comment on the plan. The Syrian presidency and defense ministry do not immediately respond to questions about the plan sent via the Syrian information ministry.

A US administration official says the US is "constantly evaluating our necessary posture in Syria to effectively combat ISIS (Islamic State) and (we) do not comment on locations or possible locations of (where) forces operate."

The official requested that the name and location of the base be removed for operational security reasons. Reuters has agreed to not reveal the exact location.

The new US plans appear to mirror two other new US military presences in the region monitoring cessation of hostilities agreements: one in Lebanon, which closely watches last year's ceasefire between Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and Israel, and one in Israel that monitors the truce between Palestinian terror group Hamas and Israel.