TEHRAN (Iran News) –Syria says it “categorically condemns” a recent visit by a U.S. delegation that illegally traveled to the country’s northeast.

It is a “flagrant violation” of Syria’s sovereignty and a breach of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

A delegation headed by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Ethan A. Goldrich met with commanders of Kurdish militants in the northeastern Syrian province of Dayr al-Zawr.

The U.S. military occupies roughly half of Dayr al-Zawr province, with Syrian government forces in control of the other half.

The “unauthorized” trip and meetings with Kurdish militant commanders, according to the Syrian foreign ministry, have “further exacerbated concerns regarding Syria’s sovereignty and international legal principles.”

The ministry also denounced the U.S. delegation’s claim that the trip to Dayr al-Zawr was meant to address alleged issues by Arab tribes against the Kurdish locals in the region.

The ministry said it is a “blatant lie.”

Over the past several weeks Arab tribes have led a peaceful uprising against the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led militants and the U.S. military itself.

They are essentially unhappy with living under the occupation of Americans and being governed by Kurdish-led militants who have failed to offer them any protection while treating them as second-class citizens.

Syria has blacklisted the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led militant group, known as the so-called “Syrian Democratic Forces”.

The militants have been working actively with the U.S. occupiers in northeast Syria as the U.S. is busy plundering the natural resources in the region.

Syria’s oil and gas resources, including its largest gas field called al-Omar, are located in the northeast.

The U.S. has been using the revenue from Syrian natural resources to pay for the logistics of its occupation and selling the rest to third parties, depriving Syrian residents across the country of much-needed economic help to rebuild vital infrastructure and other much-needed assistance after more than eleven years of dealing with a devastating foreign waged war.

Damascus says the losses so far amount to $87.7 billion, which represents the value of the lost indirect benefits (from crude oil, natural gas, and domestic gas).

The ministry further accused the U.S. of blatant interference in Syria’s domestic affairs, along with its extensive support for various terrorist groups that only serve to underline “the destructive role played by the United States in Syria.”

“The recent illegal entry of the American delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ethan Goldrich into northeast Syria and its meetings with separatist groups constitute a gross violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and the principles of international law and UN Security Council resolutions on Syria,” the ministry’s statement read.

Experts say the U.S. is openly violating international law by keeping its military forces, as well as stealing the oil and gas, in a sovereign state without authorization from an internationally recognized government.

Regional officials also accuse the U.S. of trying to revive the Daesh terrorist group in Dayr al-Zawr province, which sits on the border with Iraq and return the instability in both countries. Such accusation has been made by government officials in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The U.S. also stands accused of trying to revive sectarianism between Syrian Kurds and Arab tribes in the northeast of the country, a plot that has failed in the past.

At the same time, the Americans are using the region to train and dispatch takfiri terrorist sleeper cells that have been targeting Syrian government forces in an attempt to restore fear in the nation.

Recently, there has been a rise in attacks targeting Syrian troops. In August, a Daesh terrorist cell ambushed a Syrian army bus killing at least 20 soldiers and injuring many others in Dayr al-Zawr province.

Daesh’s only known presence is in the province of Idlib, the last piece of land the terrorist group still controls.

The last month’s terrorist attacks against the Syrian army on the other side of the country, where the U.S. has an illegal military presence, has raised eyebrows.

This may backfire also.

During the eleven years of foreign-instigated war against Syria and more recently there has been a wave of residents leaving areas under terrorist or U.S. control and heading for areas that are under the control of the government.

The policies of the terrorists ruling over the province of Idlib have been based on trafficking and the smuggling of goods while deserting the needs of the locals, who are required to pay taxes to the terrorist rulers if they want to travel.

The same has occurred in the U.S.-occupied region, with the American forces serving the interests of their proxies and neglecting the local population.

Syrians, just like everyone else on the planet, prefer to live in peace and security and under the control of regular forces, which is something the U.S. has failed to provide in the areas it has occupied.

Nobody has left the Syrian government-controlled areas to go and reside in regions that the American military has occupied because of the instability that the U.S. occupation has created there, as well as the towns and villages that are in close proximity to the Americans.

The mass exodus has been the other way around.

The northeast of Syria represents approximately 23 percent of Syrian land but is now inhabited by very little of the total Syrian population.

The bulk of the population is now living in the 75 percent of Syrian government-controlled regions, with Idlib representing a small piece of land geographically.

To make matters worse for the U.S. is that the majority of Kurds living under the American occupation are also against the presence of an occupying foreign power.

While the Syria nation has been facing harsh U.S. and European sanctions, the government in Damascus has been able, with the limited resources it has, to offer help, food, and shelter for the internally displaced people. Most importantly, the government is protecting them from terrorist groups.

However, the more insecurity that the American military creates for the locals may end up being the same factor that will see the Syrian nation kick the occupation out and liberate Idlib as well.

The majority of the Syrian population acknowledges that the future belongs to the democratically elected Syrian government and nobody else.

Syrians from all walks of life lived peacefully and happily side by side before the war erupted, and it appears they want things to go back to normal as quickly as possible, just like in the past.

At the moment, the only obstacle they face is the presence of the U.S. military. It’s plundering their natural resources and supporting militants.

History has shown that occupation forces are eventually kicked out.