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Iran Has Become a Burden to Its Allies in Syria

(Arab News-Saudi Arabia) Abdulrahman Al-Rashed - If Israel continues to bomb Iranian positions in Syria, Iran will eventually leave. The Iranian forces and militias are not responding to the Israeli attacks, and their ally, Russia, has expressed objections only through media statements. The U.S. targeting of Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iranian military operations in Syria, was also meant to help kick Iran out of Syria. We do not see the Damascus regime being eager to defend its Iranian ally, nor is Russia, so an isolated Iran is left to fight alone. For Damascus and Russia, Iran's role is over. It has financed the war and fought to protect the regime from total collapse, but now Iran has become a burden to its allies. Iran wants to turn Syria into another Lebanon - a satellite state and a military platform against Israel - in addition to using it to secure its presence in Iraq. If Iran was expelled from Syria, its influence in both Iraq and Lebanon would also be weakened. The writer is former general manager of Al-Arabiya and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.
2020-02-20 00:00:00
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