Israel accused Turkey of “dangerous adventures in Syria” yesterday, while Ankara called for a halt to “reckless” Israeli attacks, two days after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase where it said Turkish troops were about to deploy.

The attack has brought into focus tensions between regional powers Turkey and Israel over Syria, an Arab state which borders both countries and where Ankara’s influence as an ally of President Ahmed al-Sharaa has stirred Israeli alarm since he toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Israel said that Damascus was on the verge of allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the Abu al-Duhur airbase and had ignored Israeli warnings that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security - a claim denied by Turkey.

Damascus says Turkish officers visited airbase for training, military co-operation; no plans for Turkish base there

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, in comments to Axios on Wednesday, said he had made clear to Israel there were no plans to establish a Turkish military base at Abu al-Duhur.

He added that Turkish military officers had visited the base in northwestern Syria several days before the strike but stressed it was part of “ongoing military cooperation in the areas of training and the exchange of expertise.”

The Turkish defence ministry said yesterday that no Turkish military delegation was present at the base before or during the strike, and that Turkey would continue to support Syria’s efforts to develop its own military capability and infrastructure.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, in a post on X, cautioned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan against “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria” and “testing Israel’s determination to defend itself”.

Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, who criticised the Israeli strikes as “an unnecessary escalation” told Reuters on Tuesday that Washington was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee yesterday told Reuters that Washington is setting up “a de-escalation process”.

“It’s being established and it’s in place, but it needs to be refined and make sure that it’s really going to work and that everybody’s a willing participant ... I feel like we’re there,” he said.

Asked whether Washington was concerned that Israeli actions risked an Israeli-Turkish confrontation, he said: “I don’t think it’s come to that. I don’t think we’re even close to that”.

“Israel saw Turkey moving further south, and they saw that as a potential threat. They did not take action that resulted in casualties. They did not take action that resulted in the destruction of significant assets,” he said.

Syria’s al-Shaibani told Axios Israel had no legitimate justification for the bombing.