The Syrian government has strongly denied recent reports that the United States is preparing to establish a military presence near the capital, Damascus.
On Thursday, Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing a source within the Foreign Ministry, dismissed as “false” a Reuters report published Wednesday that claimed Washington was planning to take control of an airbase on the outskirts of the capital. The report alleged that U.S. forces were preparing to use an existing airfield near Damascus International Airport as part of a proposed U.S.-brokered security pact between Syria and Israel.
According to the original Reuters story, which cited six anonymous officials familiar with the matter, U.S. C-130 transport aircraft had already conducted test landings at the site in preparation for establishing a small but permanent U.S. presence. The purported base was said to be part of a broader plan to create a demilitarized zone in southern Syria, monitored jointly by American and Israeli forces.
Damascus quickly rejected the claims, calling them part of a “disinformation campaign” intended to undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts between Syria, Israel, and the United States. The timing of the report also raised eyebrows, coming just days before Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s scheduled trip to Washington — the first official visit by a Syrian leader to the U.S. — where he is expected to meet President Donald Trump.
Reports suggest Trump will use the meeting to push al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, a regional normalization framework that has expanded to include several Muslim-majority nations. On Thursday, Kazakhstan announced its intention to join the accords — a largely symbolic step that observers see as part of Trump’s effort to revive momentum for Middle East normalization following the collapse of progress after October 7th.
Currently, U.S. forces already occupy parts of northeastern Syria and maintain a base at al-Tanf near the Jordanian border, officially tasked with supporting Kurdish forces and combating ISIS. Allowing a U.S. military presence in Damascus itself would mark an unprecedented shift in Syria’s sovereignty, effectively giving Washington a military footprint in every Arab country in the Middle East.
While indirect negotiations between Damascus and Tel Aviv have quietly continued over the past several months, no agreement has yet emerged, though al-Sharaa’s government has publicly signaled willingness to explore a security arrangement with Israel under certain conditions.