Foreign

US says it opposed Israeli strikes in Syria

US says it opposed Israeli strikes in Syria

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 21: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio from the White House on June 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. President Trump addressed the three Iranian nuclear facilities that were struck by the U.S. military early Sunday. Carlos Barria – Pool/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by POOL / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The United States said Thursday that it opposed its ally Israel’s strikes in Syria, a day after Washington helped broker a deal to end violence.

“The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.

“We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states,” she said.

She declined to say if the United States had expressed its displeasure with Israel or whether it would oppose future strikes on Syria.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced concern when asked about the Israeli strikes, which included attacking the defense ministry in Damascus.

He later issued a statement that did not directly address the Israeli strikes but voiced broader concern about the violence.

Israel said it was intervening on behalf of the Druze community after communal clashes.

Israel has repeatedly been striking Syria, a historic adversary, since Islamist fighters in December overthrew Iranian-allied leader Bashar al-Assad.

US President Donald Trump, who spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday by telephone, has sided with Turkey and Saudi Arabia in seeking a better relationship with Syria under its new leader, former guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa.