Israel 'baited' Turkey with Abu al-Duhur airbase 'pre-election' strike, US Envoy Tom Barrack says

US Special Envoy Tom Barrack suggested that an Israeli strike on Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase on Tuesday, which nearly caused a confrontation with Turkey, might have been a pre-election move to provoke Ankara. Barrack, speaking on X/Twitter, presented this as a theory, not an intelligence conclusion. He also noted a second theory: Israel had intelligence about Turkish military presence at the base, which the US disputed. The incident escalated after Israeli jets struck the base without Turkish warning, leading Turkey to consider scrambling its own fighters. Barrack emphasized that neither side desires a direct confrontation, stating, "Thank goodness, palm heads really came to the moment of the day, and we unwrapped it." Despite the tensions, Barrack revealed ongoing security cooperation between Turkey, Israel, and Syria in combating ISIS terrorists.