Steiffo: Confronting Iran’s Role in Syria Requires More than Diplomatic Statements by the US

ARK News: Head of the Syrian Coalition’s Department of Foreign Relations Abdul Ahad Steifo welcomed remarks by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his speech at the American University in Cairo on Thursday about the need to confront the agenda of the Iranian regime and its deadly ambitions in the Middle East in general and Syria in particular by seeking to force out the Iranian militias that aided the Assad regime in the killing of Syrian civilians.

Steifo raised questions about the means, mechanisms and practical steps that the US will use to implement its policy along with international partners to ensure the withdrawal of Iran and its proxy forces from Syria. He said that all the forces and capabilities that were owned by the Syrian revolution to oust and reduce the Iranian presence have been marginalized and besieged while support for them was reduced.

Forcing the Iranian militias out of Syria is an important step to remove the major actors who aided and abetted the Assad regime in the shedding of the blood of the Syrian people, Steifo said. He stressed that this goal can only be achieved when the US-led coalition assume its role in the fight against terrorism in all its forms, supports the local forces of the revolution battling the Iranian expansion, maintains the international pressure on Iran, supports anti-regime peaceful protests in Iran through the tightening of sanctions and political isolation on the mullahs' regime.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that his country will continue to work with its partners to oust its last Iranian soldier from Syria as he reaffirmed his government will work through the UN-led political track. He stressed that there will be no US assistance for the reconstruction of Assad-held areas until Iran and its proxies withdraw and until the international community sees irreversible progress towards a political solution.

Pompeo added that the US reached a common understanding with its allies on the need to stand up to the Iranian influence and confront its malignant actions in the Middle East and across the world. He warned that the countries of the Middle East would not see security or economic stability or achieve the dreams of their people if the Iranian regime continues with its current policies.

The Iranian resistance earlier published an extensive report on the most prominent leaders of the Iranian militias that have been involved in the fighting alongside the Assad regime. It said that these militias were involved in the bloodshed in Syria and among the most prominent actors in the fight against the Syrian revolution.

Steifo said that after forcing the Iranian militias out of Syria, the US needs to step up its diplomatic efforts and move towards a political solution “in accordance with the international resolutions on Syria, most importantly the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Security Council Resolution 2254.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)

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