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U.S. and Iran on a Collision Course in Syria

(Middle East Institute) Ahmad Majidyar - Iran and its allies are sending reinforcements near a de-confliction zone in southeastern Syria to pressure the U.S. military to withdraw from a strategic garrison near the al-Tanf border crossing. Both Tehran and Damascus see the presence of U.S. troops training rebel forces in al-Tanf, as well as in northeastern Syria, as a serious threat. Iran also views the expulsion of the U.S. military from the strategic border crossing between Syria, Iraq and Jordan as a prerequisite to securing a sustainable supply line to Syria and Lebanon, as well as to establishing a new battlefront against Israel in southern Syria. If the U.S. maintains control over these strategic border crossings, it will be able to prevent the ground lines of communications for Iranian-backed forces between Iraq and Syria. The writer is director of Iran Observed Project at the Middle East Institute.
2017-08-31 00:00:00
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