The U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, remarked that he "can't imagine a circumstance where the Golan Heights will be returned to Syria. I cannot frankly imagine a circumstance where the Golan Heights is not part of Israel forever.... I think you'd put Israel at a great security disadvantage by giving up the high ground of the Golan Heights". Friedman added that "it is completely unacceptable to the U.S. that Iran remain in Syria. We're working on lots of different pathways to hopefully achieve that goal".