John Bolton also said Hezbollah must go back to Lebanon, after years of its involvement in the Syrian conflict. On August 25, Al-Akhbar in Lebanon reported that Assad’s regime had invited Hezbollah to remain in Syria, a clear response to the Americans.Mohammed bin Salman urged Assad to cut ties with Iran, Hezbollah: Lebanese MP https://t.co/9NNfchGjKT #Syria pic.twitter.com/O3njv186mf
— Press TV (@PressTV) August 22, 2018
At the same time US State Department envoy William Roebuck was traveling in eastern Syria over the weekend, reportedly in Manbij, Kobani and in Shaddadi. Iran’s message is that if the US is staying in eastern Syria, Iran is going to up its support for Damascus and will remain in Syria. Russia’s foreign ministry even seems to agree with this balanced equation, the Russian embassy in UK tweeted on August 24 “before demanding withdrawal of Iran troops from Syria, Ambassador Bolton should explain legal grounds for US military presence.”Pro-Hezbollah @AlakhbarNews: Hezbollah is Remaining in Syriahttps://t.co/pg2pCkjvjo pic.twitter.com/rTZV1tZvu8
— David Daoud (@DavidADaoud) August 25, 2018
Iran’s defense minister has a been a passionate supporter of Syria and also spread conspiracy theories about Israel in the past. He has worked to cement relationships with Iraq and Russia in April of this year and with Turkey in October of 2017. He has also been outspoken about the war in Yemen, accusing the US of supporting Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s campaign with the Yemenite government against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Hatami believes that Israel is seeking to create a new “regional scenario” and that Iran must work with Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Russia to prevent this “scenario.” The goal of Israel, he claimed last year, is to split up the region’s states, allying with groups such as the Kurds, or supporting Sunni extremist groups.The Iranian high-level visit will therefore seek to balance the last week’s Israel-US progress on discussions about Iran’s role in Syria. Amid reports that the US is installing new air defense radar in eastern Syria and expanding its role, and US support for Israel’s “self-defense” air strikes in Syria, as Bolton called Israel’s strikes on Iranian-backed targets, Tehran is flexing its muscles in Damascus.During the visit, Syrian state media said Iran and Syria were working to strengthen joint coordination and the “development of long-term cooperation.” Assad said the US was seeking to prolong the Syrian conflict, and that Iran and Syria’s regime were part of a “counterterrorism axis” aimed at confronting the US, which he accused of “destabilizing” the region. Syria’s Defense Minister Ali Abdullah Ayyoub said that Damascus was determined to retake the northern Idlib province. Hatami stressed that the Americans were seeking to remain in eastern Syria and deepen their presence there. The conclusion of the first day of meetings clearly showed that Damascus and Tehran sought to show that any notion Iran would leave Syria can be discarded.MFA: Before demanding withdrawal of #Iran troops from #Syria, @AmbJohnBolton should explain legal grounds of #US military presence. pic.twitter.com/lDTRNUNAW2
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) August 24, 2018