It was unclear what specifically Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT, had asked of MI6, or what new role, if any, MI6 had taken up

International News via Reuters:

Turkey’s intelligence agency asked its British counterpart MI6 last month to take a larger role in protecting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa after recent assassination plots, according to five people familiar with the matter.

After this story was published, Turkey denied that its intelligence agency MIT had made any such request to MI6.

The request highlights efforts by foreign allies to shore up a country still shaken by sporadic violence 15 months after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran now rattling the wider region. 

Those allies see Sharaa as crucial to preventing a relapse into sectarian fighting or civil war, after 14 years of civil conflict drove millions of refugees abroad and allowed Islamic State to control swathes of Syria.

The militants last month stepped up attacks on military and security personnel across Syria and declared Sharaa, a former rebel, their “number one foe”. 

It was unclear what specifically Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT, had asked of MI6, or what new role, if any, MI6 had taken up.

The Turkish presidency said in a statement issued by its communications directorate that MIT maintains effective cooperation in the fight against terrorism with the international intelligence community and security units in Syria, but that this story did not reflect the truth.

“Contrary to what is claimed in the report in question, it is not true that MIT has made any request to MI6 regarding the protection of the Syrian President or sought to assume such a role,” it said.

ANXIETY RISES IN SYRIA OVER ISLAMIC STATE

Turkey, Britain and the U.S. last year threw their backing behind Sharaa to try to reunite and rebuild his country of 26 million. London and Washington have scrapped most sanctions on Syria and on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group he once led. 

The sources who spoke to Reuters requested anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the matter. 

MIT, the Turkish foreign ministry, Britain’s foreign office and Syria’s defence and interior ministries did not comment when contacted ahead of publication. 

The sources, including Syrian and foreign officials, all cited rising anxiety over a series of reported Islamic State plots to kill Sharaa. 

A Turkish source said that MIT, which has played a key role in helping the new government to establish itself, appealed to MI6 for more support after one such incident last month. A senior Syrian security source said the request came after a “high-risk assassination plot”, adding that MIT, MI6 and Syrian authorities were constantly sharing intelligence. 

Details of the plot were unclear.

A separate Western intelligence source briefed on the matter believed Turkey wanted to introduce a Western presence in Damascus to provide something of a buffer between the agencies of Turkey and Israel, currently at loggerheads.

REPORTED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS AGAINST SHARAA

Last year, Sharaa and two senior cabinet ministers were targeted by Islamic State in five foiled assassination attempts, according to the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism. In November, Reuters reported that Syrian authorities had foiled two of the attempts.

Describing Sharaa as a “watchdog” of the global anti-Islamic State coalition, the group mounted six attacks on Syrian authorities last month in what it called a “new phase”.

On Thursday, Damascus openly acknowledged for the first time that it coordinates with MIT, saying they had cooperated to foil an Islamic State attack in the capital.

Turkish security sources said MIT had identified a team of three preparing remote bomb attacks, enabling Syrian counterparts to prevent an “imminent assault”. 

A U.S. diplomat briefed on the matter said MIT’s request to MI6 had been prompted by the Islamic State resurgence. 

The Western intelligence source said the two agencies could intensify joint planning and technical operations, but that no decision had been made on whether to send British personnel to Damascus.

A Syrian security source said a physical British presence would be “highly risky”. They said MI6 had been discussed at a meeting in Damascus on February 26 between a delegation headed by Britain’s special envoy for Syria, Ann Snow, and Syria’s deputy interior minister, Major General Abdulqader Tahan.

Sharaa was a commander of Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Syria before cutting ties with the group in 2016, then led a coalition of Islamist rebel factions in late 2024 to topple Assad. 

Reporting by Jonathan Spicer, Feras Dalatey and Jonathan Saul; Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Daren Butler

Merz said Germany shared the aims of the United States and Israel to stop Tehran’s nuclear and missile programme

International News via Reuters:

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday Berlin was working with partners to find an approach to end the fighting with Iran as he warned against allowing the country to fall into chaos as the war widens across the Middle East.

Merz said Germany shared the aims of the United States and Israel to stop Tehran’s nuclear and missile programme, its threats to Israel and its support for proxy groups and he said the Iranian people had the right to decide their own future.

“However, as the fighting continues and spreads, we also see growing risks,” he said in a statement. “An endless war is not in our interest.”

He said Germany was working with partners to formulate a common perspective on ending the conflict. “These considerations are ongoing,” he said, without giving details.

Merz’s comments reflect the unease felt in Europe at the war unleashed by the U.S. and Israeli operation that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a week ago and which has since spread into Lebanon with no clear sign of an end in sight.

As American and Israeli jets have continued to pound targets across Iran and Iranian missiles and drones have hit cities in the Gulf and Israel, the economic risks have risen with global air transport in chaos and the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key oil shipping lanes, shut down.

Iran has not yet named a successor to Khamenei, who held power for 37 years, and Merz said the collapse of Iranian statehood or proxy conflicts fought on Iranian soil would not be in anyone’s interest.

“Such scenarios could have far-reaching consequences for Europe,” he said, including uncontrolled migration by Iranians fleeing across the border if the country fell into chaos.

“The Iranian state must remain functional, and public order and basic services must be maintained. The Iranian economy must not collapse,” Merz said.

Merz said a political process of dialogue and trust building in the region would have to begin once fighting ends. Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes would have to end and be subject to verification. Iran would have to stop supporting proxy groups and all nuclear material would have to be secured.

If that happened sanctions might be lifted and aid could be provided.

Reporting by Joern Poltz, Writing by Miranda Murray and James Mackenzie, Editing by William Maclean