US in Syria Archives - Iran News Daily

Iran Slams US Presence in Syria

reporter 1222 — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 04:55:12 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Foreign Minister’s Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji in a phone call with his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday slammed the United States illegal presence in Syria stressing that US must leave the Arab country.

Speaking to Japan’s Special Coordinator for Syria Akira Endo, the Iranian diplomat further condemned the US efforts to plunder Syrian oil reserves and support terrorist groups in that country, Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported.

He also stressed the need to fight against terrorism in the Syrian territory.

Media reports said in August that a US company has reportedly reached a deal with Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria to develop and export crude oil in areas under their control in the war-torn country.

A senior official at the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in Northeast Syria said the deal was approved by the U.S. government.

Khaji and his Japanese counterpart also discussed latest developments in Syria, including the meeting of the Constitutional Committee, the Astana Peace Process, the situation in Idlib and east of the Euphrates, as well as the humanitarian situation in that country.

Referring to Iran’s position on the political settlement of the Syrian crisis, Khaji urged foreign countries not to interfere in the process of Syrian-Syrian dialogue which is within the framework of the Constitutional Committee.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey have been leading a peace process for Syria known as the Astana process, because Kazakhstan’s capital, Nur-Sultan, formerly called Astana, originally hosted the meetings.

The Astana talks resulted in two agreements.

A first deal was signed in Kazakhstan’s capital, arranging for the creation of de-escalation zones across Syria, including in parts of Idlib. The second one that came about in the Russian resort city of Sochi allowed Ankara to bring in a small number of forces to man the observation posts to reinforce de-escalation.

More in his talks with the Japanese diplomat, Khaji welcomed expansion of Tehran-Tokyo relations in the region and called for the continuation of Japanese humanitarian aid to Syria.

Akira Endo, for his part, emphasized the significance of Iran’s role in resolving the Syrian crisis and praised the efforts of the guarantors of the Astana Peace Process.

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US Serviceman Killed in Syria

reporter 1222 — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 09:47:42 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – A US serviceman was killed in Syria on Tuesday, according to military officials in the region.

The individual, whose service branch hasn’t been released yet, was assigned to the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition.

“Initial reports indicate the incident was not due to enemy contact,” reads a brief Inherent Resolve press release sent Tuesday afternoon, Army Times reported.

“The incident is under investigation.”

The individual’s identity will be released after their next of kin have been notified, Inherent Resolve officials stated.

There have been four hostile deaths and five non-combat deaths under the Inherent Resolve mission this year. All of the combat deaths have been in Iraq.

An airman and a soldier were killed in mid-March during a rocket attack on Camp Taji. Prior to that, two Marine Raiders were killed in Iraq’s southern Makhmur Mountains.

Nearly 150 US service members have been wounded in action this year, as well. One Marine, 10 airmen and 138 soldiers have been wounded in combat in 2020, according to Pentagon data.

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US, Russian forces conflict in Syria

reporter 1222 — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 14:02:24 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – US forces present in areas controlled by Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria have clashed with Russian troops amid accusations that Washington is stealing oil from Syria.

The confrontation took place at the entrance to Tal Tamr in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah. The strategic town lies on a highway to the region’s key oilfields.

Following the confrontation, Russian and American vehicles headed in two different directions, the Moscow Times reported.

The standoff was followed by Russian forces and US warplanes flying over Tal Tamr in Syria, it added.

Russia has been helping Syrian forces in the ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.

The Russian military’s assistance began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, while the US deployed troops and equipment to Syria in 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The Saturday confrontation is reportedly the fourth of its kind in less than two weeks, Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper reported Sunday.

Last week, US forces claimed they had prevented Russian troops from approaching the oilfields in Hasakah.

The skirmishes took place amid an ongoing dispute between the US and Russia over Rumeylan oilfield, which lies in Hasakah.

The latest developments come as the US has dispatched new deployments to the Syrian provinces of Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr over the past weeks.

The deployments followed President Donald Trump’s October decision to keep hundreds of US troops in Syria to “secure” the country’s oilfields which Syrian troops have yet to retake from militants.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that US attempts to control Syria’s oilfields were “illegal” and amounted to “robbery.”

Damascus is in great need of its major oil deposits in order to address its energy needs and rebuild the country amid crippling Western sanctions.

The Arab country has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

Syria is currently extracting oil at only 10 percent of its pre-war capacity.

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Syria to Sue Washington for Plundering Its Oil

reporter 1222 — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 09:35:50 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Syria government plans to file a lawsuit against Washington for plundering the oil resources of the Arab country, according to a senior adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syria government is looking into the possibility of suing Washington in an international court over the plundering of Syria’s oil reserves, Syrian presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said in an interview with the Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV.

“Syria is looking into the possibility of filing an international lawsuit against the United States, due to the fact that they steal Syrian oil,” she said in the interview, aired on Wednesday night.

Last month, Syria told the United Nations that the US had been occupying its oil fields and looting its resources as the world body remained silent on the act of misappropriation.

“The US occupies Syrian oil wells and plunders the Syrians’ revenues in the shadow of the UN Security Council’s silence,” Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari told a meeting of the 15-member body in New York on November 13.

Syria’s state-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported last week that a large US military convoy had entered oil fields in northeastern Syria, despite widespread condemnation of the deployment as being tantamount to robbery. The reinforcements, the television said, had been dispatched to the provinces of al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor from neighboring Iraq.

US President Donald Trump announced a US troop pullout from the zone of the Turkish military operation in northern Syria this fall but said that his country would not give up control over oil fields in the north of the Arab country.

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that the United States was smuggling Syrian oil to other countries, while oil caravans are guarded by US private security companies and special forces.

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US Keeps Troops in Syria

reporter 1222 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 13:36:38 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News)- The United States will maintain about 600 troops in Syria, Pentagon chief Mark Esper said on Wednesday, despite President Donald Trump’s desire to end US involvement in what the president calls “endless wars”.

“We’re still moving troops out of Northeastern Syria,” the US defense secretary stated as he traveled to Seoul, where he begins a tour of Asia on Thursday. “The US keeps troops in Syria, at the end of the day,” Esper said.

Asked if that figure included the approximately 200 troops deployed to the Al-Tanf base near the Southeastern borders with Jordan and Iraq, Esper noted that he was referring to Northeastern Syria, where Trump has instructed the Pentagon to secure oil fields.

There would be “600-ish” troops across the country, he then reiterated.

Esper said that the numbers could fluctuate, particularly if European allies strengthened their presence in the country.

“Things change. Events on the ground change. We could have, for example, partners and allies from Europe joining us,” he stated, adding, “If they join us on the ground it may allow us the ability to redeploy further US forces out there.”

Trump’s abrupt announcement last month that he had ordered a full troop withdrawal drew angry rebukes at home and abroad.

Critics said it could allow a resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS or Daesh) group while leaving Washington-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria vulnerable to a Turkish offensive.

The US president later relented in part, saying the US keeps troops in Syria and the region to protect valuable oil fields.

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