Syrian FM calls for Israeli withdrawal in meeting with UN chief

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani used a joint press appearance with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Damascus to demand that Israel leave southern Syria “immediately and unconditionally.” The report, published on July 25, 2026, said the call came during Guterres’s visit to the Syrian capital.

According to Al Jazeera, the UN chief also met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during the same trip. The available report does not provide details on what Guterres or al-Sharaa said in their meeting, whether any formal proposals were discussed, or whether Israel issued a response to the Syrian foreign minister’s demand.

The development matters because Israeli-Syrian tensions are tied to a long-running territorial and security dispute. As general background, Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed the area, a move not widely recognized internationally. A UN peacekeeping mission has for decades monitored the ceasefire line between Israeli and Syrian forces.

The Damascus visit places the United Nations secretary-general in direct contact with Syria’s leadership at a moment when Syrian officials are publicly pressing the issue of Israeli presence in the south. Based on the information supplied by Al Jazeera, the key confirmed development is the Syrian foreign minister’s renewed demand for withdrawal, delivered alongside the UN chief, rather than any announced agreement or change on the ground.