US will soon have to withdraw from Syria and Persian Gulf

Tehran – Iran has claimed that following the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States will soon have to flee from Syria and the Persian Gulf. At the same time, Iran retorted that the United States is not as dangerous as it used to be but is a failure, cowardly and frustrated. By making such remarks, Iran seems to be warning the US allies and partners in the Gulf.

A month ago, the United States withdrew its military completely from Afghanistan. The Biden administration’s decision drew strong criticism from around the world, inclusive of the United States. Former US leaders, diplomats and analysts have warned that the irresponsible withdrawal would send wrong messages to US allies. China has also threatened Taiwan and Japan, citing US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Iran’s serving and former military officials have also started making efforts to take advantage of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Yahya Rahim Safavi, told a local news agency that the United States was seriously considering a military withdrawal from Syria and the Persian Gulf. Safavi said that the United States wants to flee the Persian Gulf and West Asia, because it does not want to stay in this region any longer. Major General Hussein Salami, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, also claimed that the United States was preparing to flee. He also stated that the United States was not as dangerous as before and warned that Iran was becoming stronger by the day.

Two days ago, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, while addressing the UN General Assembly, threatened the United States, ‘This is the right time to withdraw troops from Syria. Otherwise, the United States will have to face humiliation in Syria similar to Afghanistan’, Mekdad had cautioned. Like Syria, Iraq also demanded the withdrawal of US troops. Iran-linked terrorist organisations in Iraq have threatened to attack US troops.

It is being warned that if the United States withdraws from Afghanistan, attacks on Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq could escalate. Mazlum Abdi, head of the Kurdish organisation in Syria, claimed that the US military withdrawal would not affect Kurdish security. However, against the backdrop of the recent attacks on Kurds in Syria and Iraq by Turkey and Iran, a strong possibility that the United States will leave the Kurds from Iraq and Syria in the lurch is coming to the fore.

In the interim, the Biden administration, which has been the target of criticism since the troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, announced that it would not withdraw from the Gulf. But in the last few days, the United States has withdrawn its air defence system deployed for the security of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Egypt’s military aid was also blocked on the grounds of human rights issues. Funding for Israel’s Iron Dome system was also blocked. However, the subsequent sharp reactions in the US Senate paved the way for Israeli funding.