US Envoy Tom Barrack Alleges Israel's Syria Airfield Strike May Have Been Pre-Election Ploy

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, has suggested that Israel may have attempted to provoke a confrontation with Turkey as a political calculation ahead of upcoming elections.

In an interview with podcast host Mario Nawfal, Mr Barrack highlighted the elevated tensions between Turkey and Israel, noting that Israel carried out a strike on a military airfield in eastern Idlib last week despite active backchannel diplomatic communications shortly before the attack. One theory was that “the Israelis were baiting the Turks,” which he connected to a possible “very aggressive but maybe a well-received pre-election concept.” Israel is scheduled to hold a general election on October 27, though Mr Barrack emphasized he was sharing theories rather than definitive determinations.

Mr Barrack explained that prior to the Israeli strike on the runway at Abu Al Duhur military airfield, initial intelligence indicated potential Turkish military movement into the base. Such a move would have alarmed the US given the ongoing tensions between Ankara and Israel. However, the Turkish presidency dismissed the Israeli allegations as “untenable” and “intended to legitimise” Israel’s “unlawful” action at the facility, while not ruling out any potential deployment.

According to Mr Barrack, the US assessment concluded there was no such Turkish troop movement toward the base. “We all did our due diligence, we went back to our respective intelligence agencies. The answers we got were 'no, this is not happening',” Mr Barrack stated. Despite this, Israel moved forward with the attack after an Israeli “commander in the field somewhere said we are going to make sure that doesn't happen, and we're going to take out the runways.” He added, “What they [Israel] didn't do is tell us, or tell Turkey.”

Mr Barrack suggested there may have been a miscommunication between Israel's intelligence service and the military. He noted that Israel, having destroyed much of Syria's air force following the collapse of the Assad regime, sought a “clear line of sight to Iran.” He explained, “They don't want the risk of defensive radar or offensive ability to deter or intervene in the necessity that they need to move against Iran.”

He also emphasized the high risk of escalation when the Turkish military observed Israeli jets crossing Syria toward the Turkish border without knowing their intent. “Thank goodness calm heads really came to the moment of the day,” he said. “It was one of those moments where I think, for many of us, our whole life went in front of us.”