U.S. to Deploy Forces in Damascus to Support Israel-Syria Security Pact

The United States is preparing to deploy forces to an airbase in Damascus to monitor a potential security pact being brokered by President Donald Trump between Israel and Syria, according to a Reuters report.

While the exact location was not provided, the report says the base sits at the gateway to southern Syria, a region expected to become a demilitarized zone under the agreement. It is unclear how many U.S. troops would be involved or when they could arrive.

The deployment signals a strategic realignment between Syria and the U.S. following last year’s fall of President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Monday, in a historic first visit by a Syrian head of state.

A Western military official told Reuters that the Pentagon had accelerated its plans over the past two months, conducting multiple reconnaissance missions to ensure the base was ready for immediate use. A Syrian defense official said the U.S. flew a military C-130 transport aircraft to the base to verify the runway’s usability.

Two Syrian military sources said discussions between the two countries have focused on using the base for logistics, surveillance, refueling, and humanitarian operations, while Syria would maintain full sovereignty over the facility.

On Thursday, a Syrian foreign ministry source told state news agency SANA that the Reuters story was “false,” without specifying what information was inaccurate. The Pentagon and Syrian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the plan.

In recent months, the U.S. has reduced its troop presence in Syria and closed several bases. The move is part of the Pentagon’s plan to cut forces in the country from 2,000 to fewer than 1,000, citing ISIS’s territorial defeat and the need to consolidate resources.

U.S. troops were first deployed to Syria over a decade ago to combat ISIS and support the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are now integrating into the Syrian military.