Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said Israel leveraged Iran's presence to gain ground in Syria, as he said Damascus would welcome U.N. forces into the buffer zone with Israel.
"Israel's advance in the region was due to the presence of Iranian militias and Hezbollah. After the liberation of Damascus, I believe that they have no presence at all. There are pretexts that Israel is using today to advance into the Syrian regions, into the buffer zone," he said Thursday.
Meanwhile, Qatar's prime minister said his country demanded Israel "immediately withdraw" from its buffer zone with Syria. He was speaking during a visit to Damascus after Israeli troops had entered the area following the ousting of Bashar Assad.
"The Israeli occupation's seizure of the buffer zone is a reckless... act and it must immediately withdraw," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said at a news conference with Syrian leader al-Sharaa.
Qatar's prime minister also vowed to support the rehabilitation of Syria's infrastructure, devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war.
"We will provide the necessary technical support to make the infrastructure operational again and provide support to the electricity sector," he said, adding that Qatar "extends its hand to our Syrian brothers for future partnerships."
Live footage showed bin Abdulrahman's arrival at Damascus International Airport, confirming the landmark visit.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari said the prime minister will hold talks with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the new Syrian administration.
The spokesman added that the visit confirms Qatar's commitment to supporting Syria during its transitional period.
The visit follows Qatar's reopening of its embassy in Damascus in late December, ending a closure that had lasted since 2011 following the Assad regime's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Earlier this month, Doha hosted Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, further emphasizing Qatar's role in fostering diplomatic ties with post-Assad Syria.
Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party's autocratic regime, which had been in power since 1963.
