Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime are coordinating a coercive campaign to expel the United States from Syria, said the US Institute for the Study of War, Report informs.
According to the Institute, this campaign poses a serious risk to US forces in Syria and US interests in the Middle East.
“Iranian and Syrian regime-affiliated sources have circulated false claims since late June that the United States and allied forces in Syria intend to launch an offensive to retake regime-held towns,” ISW said.
“The coordination between Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime is possibly part of a broader political-military campaign to bolster the Assad regime’s international legitimacy and expand Iranian-Russian control over Syrian territory. Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime have a shared interest in the departure of US forces from Syria,” ISW said.
US military officials explain that the increase in Russian aggression against US forces in Syria is compensation for the decrease in Russian capabilities in the country and is a response to US support for Ukraine. The shift in Russian strategy in Syria occurred late last year, however. Russia had restrained some Iranian efforts to expel US forces from Syria until then.
According to ISW, the buildup of Iranian, Russian, and Syrian regime forces in eastern Syria may lead to unauthorized attacks on US or SDF forces that draw the United States into a conflict in the near term.