US President Donald Trump on Monday sought to end fears of an abrupt US pullout from Syria, saying the fight against the Islamic State group was not over and that withdrawal would be done in a ‘prudent’ manner.
In an op-ed published by The New York Times on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria and said that Turkey ‘is the only country with the power and commitment’ to protect the interests of Washington, the international community and the Syrian people.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be ‘singularly focused’ on rallying Middle East leaders to help the United States counter Iran’s global support for terrorism and military intervention during a weeklong jaunt across the region, the Secretary of State told the Washington Free Beacon aboard his plane en route to his first stop in Jordan.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Sunday that the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan – the ‘deal of the century’ – will be presented ‘within the next several months.’
Recent precision strikes and coordinated attacks targeting the Islamic State’s media cells have diminished the group’s communications capabilities by nearly half in less than six months, according to the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to depart on a tour of the Middle East next week in a bid to galvanize regional leaders to confront Iran and remind allies that the United States is not disappearing from region amid the Trump administration’s decision to pull American troops out of Syria and possibly Afghanistan, according to senior State Department officials.
Following the decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, National Security Adviser John Bolton reportedly cautioned the Syrian government on Saturday that the drawdown should not be viewed as an opening to use chemical weapons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had almost all of his requests accepted during his meeting in Brazil with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a senior Israeli diplomatic official said Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would get out of Syria slowly ‘over a period of time’ and would protect the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in the country as Washington draws down troops.
Syria and Iran were on the agenda Tuesday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Brasilia against the backdrop of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration.
President Trump claimed Monday that he never said the U.S. would ‘rush out’ of Syria despite reporting that indicated he had ordered a rapid withdrawal.
A Fars Air Qeshm cargo 747 airliner left Tehran at 8 a.m. on Sunday and landed in Damascus at 10:30 a.m., returning to Tehran at 5 p.m. The 747 allegedly transported weapons to Hezbollah in September, according to a report from Fox News that was based on Western intelligence assessments. The aircraft also made suspicious flights in July and August to Damascus and Beirut.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday he felt less concerned about President Trump pulling U.S. troops from Syria following a two-hour lunch with him at the White House.
A week after President Trump’s surprising announcement that he was withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, the U.S. military is drafting a withdrawal plan that could have U.S. troops leaving over several months, according to U.S. officials, who stressed that no final decisions have been made about the planned pace of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.
An Israeli security official on Wednesday confirmed responsibility for overnight airstrikes in Syria, saying the air force had hit a series of targets involved in Iranian arms transfers to the Hezbollah militant group.
An intelligence report issued by the satellite imaging company ImageSat International (ISI) on Thursday revealed the aftermath of the recent airstrikes in Syria, largely attributed to Israel.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was not worried that pulling troops out of Syria could endanger Israel, citing vast American military aid to the Jewish state and saying it could defend itself.
Brushing aside Russian criticism of a reported Israeli airstrike in Syria overnight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday doubled down on Israel’s policy of attacking Iranian-linked targets in Syria.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Moscow expects the Syrian government to take over the areas where the U.S. troops are currently deployed following their withdrawal.
Israel’s air defense system – likely the Arrow – was activated late Tuesday night against a Syrian anti-aircraft missile, following an alleged Israeli air strike over the capital of Damascus. Media reports claimed that Israel struck weapon warehouses near the Syrian capital.