The United States is using the allegation that Iranian troops are present in Syria as a present to continue its own illegal military presence and support of terrorists, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik
DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2020) The United States is using the allegation that Iranian troops are present in Syria as a present to continue its own illegal military presence and support of terrorists, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik.
The Syrian president was asked to comment on the US' stance that Iran's withdrawal from Syria must be a precondition of the restoration of the international cooperation with Damascus and the recovery of its economy.
"First of all, we don't have Iranian troops and that is very clear," Assad said.
As emphasized by the Syrian president, Iran's assistance to Damascus is limited to sending military experts who work with the Syrian troops on the ground but do not engage in the fighting.
"The Iranian issue is a pretext for occupying Syrian land and supporting terrorists," Assad stressed.
As a case in point, he spoke about how the US had asked the Russian authorities last year to "convince the Iranians that they should be 80 kilometers [50 miles] away from the border with the Golan Heights," an Israeli-controlled former Syrian territory, in exchange for the deoccupation of the Al-Tanf area on the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to the Syrian president, Iran easily agreed � since there were no Iranian troops there anyway � but the US troops never withdrew from the area in question.
Israel established military control over the Golan Heights in 1967 and annexed it in 1981, albeit the annexation was never recognized by the United Nations. The Golan Heights is widely seen as an exceptionally important strategic area, chiefly due to the fact that it offers a clear view on both Syria and Israel.
Last March, US President Donald Trump declared endorsement of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
