Not many countries in the Middle East are particularly comfortable with Iran, what with the Islamic Republic's interventionist tendencies. There were also allegations of Iran being past masters at exporting terrorism.
It is in a bid to keep an eye on the Iranians that the Americans will not be in a hurry to leave Syria. Well, not at any time soon.
According to Gulf sources, Donald Trump actually told Vladimir Putin at their Helsinki summit that he would not pull US troops out of Syria until Iranian forces had left.
Prior to the summit at Helsinki, Trump's hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, told ABC News that US troops would remain in Syria “as long as the Iranian menace continues throughout the Middle East”. It is believed that Bolton's remarks came after intense lobbying from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which regard Iranian influence across the region as a threat.
In another development, Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani yesterday decided to weigh in. He warned that his country was ready to confront the US. Suleimani is the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force and the mastermind of the country’s military operations in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
Speaking on Iranian television, General Suleimani warned menacingly :
“Mr Trump the gambler: know that where you are not thinking of, we are near you. Places you cannot imagine, we are next to you. The Red Sea is no longer secure.”
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