The chief of Israel Defence Forces Gadi Eisenkot announced that Iran is seeking further influence in Syria by enormously increasing its current ground troops in Syria.
“The Iranian vision for Syria for the day after (the war) …is to build a force of 100,000 ground troops. There are already 20,000 fighters from Hezbollah, Shiite militias from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and thousands of advisers from Iran,” Eisenkot was quoted by Sputnik News.
US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of its forces from Syria on December 19, a move that was highly criticized locally and internationally.
United States Senate urged Donald Trump’s administration to reconsider US withdrawal from Syria, calling such action a “premature” and “costly mistake.”
The US senators also expressed the importance of supporting the American’s top ally in the region, Kurds, who played an undeniable role in deafening ISIS.
Iran, in turn, welcomed American’s decision, saying that “US is source of tensions in the region.” The Islamic Republic and its Revolutionary Guard are highly involved in Syria backing Bashar Assad’s regime.
Tehran has a fragile relation with is regional rival, Saudi Arabia and Israel as well as the United States especially since US President left Iran nuclear deal on May and impose harsh sanctions against Iran, partly for its interventions in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Israel have been frequently targeting pro-Syrian regime including Iranian forces, warning that Jerusalem would not tolerate Iran’s weapon transformation to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
