U.S. Envoy Retracts Golan Heights Comments, Citing Historical Context

Fort Myers Naples, FL, August 23, 2026 —

Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, has retracted earlier statements in which he described the Golan Heights as being “still” occupied by Israel. These remarks had appeared to diverge from the Trump administration’s 2019 policy recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

Barrack issued a clarification following his initial comments. He stated that his remarks were intended as a description of the historical status of the Golan Heights and not as an endorsement of the United Nations’ established position on the matter. Barrack emphasized that the official U.S. policy regarding the Golan Heights remains unchanged.

The original comments, made by Barrack, suggested a potential shift in the U.S. stance, which had been solidified in March 2019 when President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This move reversed decades of U.S. policy and international consensus that viewed the territory as occupied.

The Golan Heights have been a significant point of contention in the Israeli-Syrian conflict since Israel seized the territory from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. While Israel considers the Golan Heights part of its sovereign territory, most of the international community, including the United Nations, continues to regard it as occupied Syrian land.

Barrack’s retraction aims to realign the U.S. diplomatic messaging with the established policy, assuring that the U.S. government’s official position on the status of the Golan Heights has not been altered by his initial phrasing.

Story summarized from the original created by AP on apnews.com, see more information here.

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