How Trump’s sellout of the Kurds threw Iran a lifeline in Syria
Continuing his series on the complexities of the Middle East, Ahmed Aboudouh looks at the fallout of Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria
Donald Trump’s decision to pull US forces out of Syria, paved the way for Turkey to push the Kurds away from its borders – but also facilitated a comeback by Iran in one of the most strategic areas in the Middle East.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were pushed into a deal with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Iran’s staunch ally, to re-establish control over vast areas of northern Syria in a bid to stave off any Turkish incursion.
Iran has voiced “concerns” about the Turkish operations but stopped short of taking diplomatic or military actions to stop it.
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