Rouhani’s Aide Welcomes US Syria Pullout, Cautions Turkey against Incursion

Iranian President’s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi said that his country welcomes the US retreat from the regional states, including Syria, and meantime cautioned Turkey that a military attack on Syrian territories will not enhance its security.

“The foreign forces, including the US, that are in Syria without coordination with the Syrian government and their presence has just stirred insecurity should leave. Now that Mr. Trump says he wants to leave Syria, we completely welcome the US retreat from Syria and from other places it has deployed forces,” Vaezi told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

He also referred to Turkey’s recent threats to attack the Kurds in Syria, and said, “We are aware of Turkey’s concerns at the borders with Syria and have talked with them but based on our analysis, assessment and knowledge of the regional conditions, military deployment is detrimental to the region and does not establish security.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran thinks that we should all endeavor to resolve the problems in Syria through negotiation,” Vaezi said.

His comments came after US President Donald Trump announced his surprise decision to pull back US troops from the border just as Turkey was amassing its forces along the border in what appears to be preparation for a massive anti-Kurdish operation in Syria.

Ankara wants to create a so-called “safe zone” along the border, where Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey would be relocated.

The US president also stated the Turks “have also been good to deal with, helping me to save many lives at Idlib Province” the last remaining hotbed of militants in Syria.

The area in Northern Syria was insulated from a military offensive by Russia-backed Syrian government forces on a request from Ankara, which feared such an operation would cause another massive inflow of refugees into its territory.