WorldIran Threatens U.S. Syria Bases, Russia Says 'Withdraw'

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Russia has reiterated its demand for the United States to withdraw from Syria, amid ongoing pressure from fellow Damascus ally Iran.

President Donald Trump first announced in December that he planned to pull U.S. troops out of Syria as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) they were tasked with destroying was deemed "defeated." With no official timeline announced, however, the Syrian government and its main international backers Russia and Iran have grown impatient. Meanwhile, Moscow, already skeptical of any withdrawal plans from Washington, has again pushed for a total U.S. exit.

New Israeli Syria Strikes Reported As Russia Condemns

Syrian news agencies reported new Israeli strikes in Al-Quneitra province, sparking what could be further escalation from Damascus' allies Russia and Iran.

The president overruled his military and diplomatic advisers, who warned against abandoning Kurdish allies and ceding influence in Syria to Russia and Iran . Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said President Trump’ s decision to withdraw U . S . troops from Syria “rattled the world.”

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russia , Iran , and Syria are “not happy” about the American troop withdrawal from Syria because they Zakharova suggested rebel forces relying on the U . S . military presence to blunt Syrian advances supported by Russia , such as those based near

"We insist that the United States should fulfill its pledge and fully withdraw from Syria," Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Monday, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency.

Just one day prior, Iran also stepped up its rhetoric against U.S. activities in Syria, with Tehran's own Deputy Defense Minister Reza Talai-Nik warning that "all U.S. bases there are within the range of our cross-border weapons, and if these fail, we'll strike them from within Iran," as reported by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

As a 2011 rebel and jihadi uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad devolved into civil war, the U.S. and its regional allies—including Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey—began to fund and train insurgent groups, while Iran mobilized regional Shiite Muslim forces in support of the Syrian government. The U.S. later switched its focus to battling ISIS in 2014, scaling back support for an increasingly Islamist-led opposition and siding with the majority-Kurd Syrian Democratic Forces in 2015, just as Russia staged its own intervention at Assad's request.

Iran warns Israel against further air strikes in Syria

Iran warned Israel on Tuesday of a "firm and appropriate" response if it continued attacking targets in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad and his forces in their nearly eight-year war against rebels and militants. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle) { medianetNativeAdOnArticle.getMedianetNativeAds(true); }); Israel, which views Iran as its biggest security threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets and those of allied militia in Syria.

Permanent US Military Base on Syria -Iraqi border. Donate. U . S . Marines with Weapons Company, 3rd On Friday, Netanyahu and Putin spoke, Israel reportedly afforded no concessions by Russia ’ s To withdraw or not to withdraw US forces from Syria may turn out to be more of the latter than the

JUST WATCHED. Trump orders US withdrawal from Syria . The fallout for Iran policy will be significant, said Derek Chollet, a US assistant secretary of defense in the Obama administration and now an executive vice president at the U . S . preparing for "full" and "rapid" withdrawal from Syria .

The two campaigns—one backed by the U.S., and the other supported by Russia and Iran—have since largely eradicated ISIS, leaving only a pocket of jihadi control in Syria's far east. The militants' defeat, however, has left pressing questions surrounding ongoing U.S. presence in Syria, which has deemed the Pentagon's intervention illegal, and the extent of Iran's footprint in the Arab country, which has been targeted by an extensive Israeli campaign seeking to degrade positions said to be associated with Tehran.

Syria has welcomed Russia and Iran's ongoing presence there, even as their visions for the war-torn country's future diverged. Ryabkov told CNN late last month that Moscow and Tehran were "partners," but not "allies" as they did not see "completely eye-to-eye" on the region's development. Russian ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan later clarified, warning that "our opponents are seeking to create divisions between Iran and Russia, but will not be successful."

Netanyahu confirms latest Israeli strike in Syria

Netanyahu confirms latest Israeli strike in Syria

The Russian president’ s special envoy said that once the situation in Syria is stable again the Russian military units will remain inside these two bases only. Despite Russia ’ s calls, local observers doubt that US , Turkey or Iran will withdraw from Syria anytime soon, as the three countries are using their

Russia and Iran stand to emerge as the dominant players in a country that shares a border with Israel. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump' s abrupt decision to withdraw U . S . troops from Syria Erdogan had been threatening an imminent new military operation into Syria , where Turkish

Since early 2017, Russia and Iran have worked alongside Turkey, the only major remaining pro-opposition power, as part of Syria peace talks based in the Kazakh capital of Astana and the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi. Despite their political differences, the three were united in seeking a timely U.S. withdrawal, a hope frustrated by a lack of any official announcements on when exactly the Pentagon planned to leave.

© ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images Iranians visit a weaponry and military equipment exhibition in the capital Tehran on Febraury 2 organized on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Iran has resisted calls to limit its missile development in the face of a campaign waged by its arch-foes the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Shortly after Trump's apparently abrupt announcement to withdraw, Reuters cited a U.S. official as saying that the operation would take somewhere between 60 to 100 days. Last month, Newsweekreceived confirmation from a Defense Department official that the U.S. military had begun removing equipment from an airbase in Syria's northeast, near the border with Iraq.

Outgoing U.S. Chief of Staff Army General Joseph Votel told media that the withdrawal would "probably" take place within "weeks, but again, it will all be driven by the situation on the ground," as quoted by Reuters.

“In terms of the withdrawal ... I think we’re right on track with where we wanted to be," he added. "Moving people is easier than moving equipment and so what we’re trying to do right now is kind of clear out those materials, that equipment, that we do not need."