X user @hahussain claimed in a post between 1:46 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. UTC on December 14, 2025, that the terrorist who killed three Americans near Palmyra, Syria, shook hands with U.S. officers before the attack because Saudi Arabia and Qatar urged trust in Jolani. The post stated: "Before the terrorist who allegedly killed three Americans committed his crime, he shook hands with US officers because Saudi and Qatar told us to trust Jolani. Now they’re spinning it as ISIS doing crime to weaken US love of Jolani and asking us to stay the course." The claims relate to a terrorist ambush near Palmyra on December 13, 2025, that killed two U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian interpreter while wounding three others, according to U.S. Central Command as referenced in Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release No. 251 issued late December 13. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) mourned two Iowa National Guard members killed in the attack and prayed for the three wounded soldiers, according to her statement shared on X over the past hour before this reporting window. A U.S. official told Al-Monitor the gunman had worked for Syrian government-aligned forces and was under investigation by Damascus' Interior Ministry for alleged ISIS ties, as reported in prior updates.
