Syria Joins Anti-IS Coalition Without Military Commitment/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Syria has joined the global coalition against the Islamic State but will not participate in the military mission led by the United States, a Syrian official confirmed. The announcement followed President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s historic White House visit, though no formal military agreement was signed.
Syria Joins Anti-IS Coalition Without Military Role: Diplomatic Shift Quick Looks
- President al-Sharaa signals Syria’s intent to join 89-nation anti-IS coalition
- Syria excludes itself from U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve military campaign
- First official Syrian visit to the White House since 1946 independence
- U.S. and Syria maintain coordination but lack a formal military partnership
- Syria seeks sanctions repeal and denies normalization talks with Israel
Syria Joins Anti-IS Coalition Without Military Commitment
Deep Look
In a significant diplomatic development, Syria has joined the international coalition against the Islamic State, though it will not participate in the U.S.-led military operations that form the backbone of the coalition’s efforts. The move was confirmed Tuesday by Syrian Minister of Information Hamza al-Mustafa, following President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s landmark visit to Washington.
Al-Sharaa met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday and expressed Syria’s intent to align politically with the 89-member coalition formed to combat ISIS. However, al-Mustafa clarified that Syria is not entering into the military component of the alliance, known as Operation Inherent Resolve.
“There is a clear distinction between joining a political coalition and participating in a military mission,” al-Mustafa explained in a phone interview. “Syria is not part of the U.S.-led operations room that is conducting military activity in Iraq and Syria.”
Operation Inherent Resolve has long partnered with Iraqi forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), especially in northern and eastern Syria, where ISIS remnants still carry out attacks. Syria’s exclusion from this military initiative signals a cautious but noteworthy shift in its approach to international engagement, particularly with the United States.
New Era of U.S.-Syria Relations
The historic meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa marked the first visit by a Syrian head of state to the White House since Syria gained independence in 1946. The meeting underscores how dramatically U.S.-Syria relations have shifted since the fall of longtime leader Bashar Assad last year, toppled in a rebel uprising led by al-Sharaa — then commander of an Islamist insurgent group.
Although no formal announcement has come from the White House, a senior U.S. official confirmed anonymously that Syria had expressed its intention to join the anti-IS coalition during the meeting. The move signals a desire for greater cooperation in areas of shared concern, particularly regional security.
Despite the warming ties, Syria remains under strict U.S. sanctions imposed for human rights violations committed by the Assad regime. The Caesar Act sanctions — currently suspended under a waiver renewed by Trump — continue to hinder Syria’s economic recovery. Al-Sharaa reportedly used his visit to lobby for a permanent repeal, but such action would require congressional approval.
Cautious Coordination and Limited Partnership
While Syria and the U.S. have opened new channels of dialogue, military collaboration remains limited.
“There is coordination in some cases,” al-Mustafa said. “But Syria is not involved in the military operations carried out by the coalition.”
The U.S. military has not acknowledged Syria’s inclusion in Operation Inherent Resolve and has continued to rely on existing local partnerships, such as the SDF, for intelligence and ground operations against ISIS holdouts.
Regional Diplomacy and Israel Tensions
Al-Sharaa’s visit also included indirect discussions about Syria’s tense relationship with Israel. Though some neighboring Arab states have normalized relations with Israel through U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, Syria continues to reject normalization as long as Israeli forces occupy Syrian territory.
Israeli forces seized a former U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria following Assad’s collapse and have conducted repeated airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure. Talks between the two countries are ongoing, but al-Mustafa confirmed that no security or normalization agreement is imminent.
“We are not discussing the Abraham Accords at this time,” he said. “Israel continues to occupy part of Syria. Before any normalization, there must be either a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement or a new agreement involving complete withdrawal from territories occupied after December 8.”
That date marks the fall of Assad’s regime, which triggered a new phase of negotiations in the region and allowed the current government to begin rebuilding diplomatic relations — albeit on its own terms.
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