Pan-Syrian manoeuvres tell a story (4,1,4)
I believe the answer is:
spin a yarn
'tell a story' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'pan-syrian manoeuvres' is the wordplay.
'manoeuvres' indicates an anagram (letters manoeuvred in a new way).
'pan'+'syrian'='pansyrian'
'pansyrian' anagrammed gives 'SPIN A YARN'.
(Other definitions for spin a yarn that I've seen before include "Pin Aryans down to tell a tall or invented story" , "A textile worker might" , "tell a complicated story?" .)