Mediaboss Marketing

BEIRUT (AP) Iran-backed fighters were on alert in eastern Syria on Saturday, a day afte r U.S. forces launched retaliatory airstrikes on sites in the war-torn country, opposition activists said. The airstrikes came after a suspected Iran-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six other Americans on Thursday.

The situation was calm following a day in which rockets were fired at bases housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria. The rockets came after U.S. airstrikes on three different areas in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour, which borders Iraq, opposition activists said.

While its not the first time the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes in Syria, the attack and the U.S. response threaten to upend recent efforts to deescalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward dtente in recent days after years of turmoil.

In the first Syrian comment since the attacks occurred, the foreign ministry condemned the U.S. strikes saying they are a flagrant violation of Syrias sovereignty. The ministry added in a statement that Damascus aims to end American occupation and spread government control over all parts of the country.

The calm continues as Iran-backed militiamen are on alert out of concern of possible new airstrikes, said Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.

Omar Abu Layla, an activist from Deir el-Zour who is currently in the U.S. and runs a group that monitors developments in east Syria, said Iran-backed fighters have evacuated some of their posts and moved into trenches in case of any more American strikes. They are in a state of alert, he said.

President Joe Biden said Friday that the U.S. would respond forcefully to protect its personnel after U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Irans Revolutionary Guard. The strikes followed an attack Thursday by a suspected Iran-made drone that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded five American servicemembers and a U.S. contractor.

The United States does not, does not seek conflict with Iran, Biden said in Ottawa, Canada, where he was on a state visit. But he said Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the U.S. to act forcefully to protect our people. Thats exactly what happened last night. Activists said the U.S. bombing killed at least four people.

In Iran, domestic media outlets quoted a spokesman for the nations Supreme National Security Council, Keivan Khosravi, as saying that Tehran would immediately respond to any U.S. attack on Iranian bases in Syria.

Any excuses-seeking attitude for attack on bases that are established at the request of the Syrian government, will immediately face an answer, Khosravi was quoted as saying. Khosravi rejected U.S charges that Iran is behind attacks on American bases in Syria, suggesting they are attacks against illegal occupation of part of Syria.

A statement issued late Friday by the Iranian Consultative Center in Syria warned the U.S. not to carry out further strikes in Syria. Otherwise, we will have to retaliate. It warned that it will not be a simple revenge.

The center, which speaks on behalf of Tehran in Syria, said the U.S. airstrikes targeted places used to store food products and other service centers in Deir el-Zour. It said the strike killed seven people and wounded seven others without giving the nationalities of the dead. An official with an Iran-backed group in Iraq said the strikes killed seven Iranians.

The Observatory raised the death toll from the U.S. strikes to 19, saying they were killed in three locations, including an arms depot in the Harabesh neighborhood in the city of Deir el-Zour, and two military posts near the towns of Mayadeen and Boukamal.

Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area, which also has seen suspected airstrikes by Israel in recent months allegedly targeting Iranian supply routes.

According to U.S. officials, two simultaneous attacks were launched at U.S. forces in Syria late Friday. Officials said that based on preliminary information, there was a rocket attack on the Conoco plant, where U.S. troops are stationed, and one U.S. service member was wounded but is in stable condition. At about the same time, several drones were launched at Green Village, in Deir el-Zour province where U.S. troops are also based. One official said all but one of the drones were shot down, and there were no U.S. injuries there. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been suspected of carrying out attacks with bomb-carrying drones across the wider Middle East.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the American intelligence community had determined the drone in Thursdays attack was of Iranian origin, but offered no other immediate evidence to support the claim. The drone hit a coalition base in the northeast Syrian city of Hasakeh.

Iran relies on a network of proxy forces throughout the Mideast to counter the U.S. and Israel, its arch regional enemy. The U.S. has had forces in northeast Syria since 2015, when they deployed as part of the fight against the Islamic State group, and maintains some 900 troops there, working with Kurdish-led forces that control around a third of Syria.

The exchange of strikes came as Saudi Arabia and Iran have been working toward reopening embassies in each others countries. The kingdom also acknowledged efforts to reopen a Saudi embassy in Syria, whose embattled President Bashar Assad has been backed by Iran in his countrys long war.

The State Department said in a statement Saturday that they have been in contact with Saudi officials about their approach to the region, including with Syria adding that Washingtons stance against normalization with Assads government remains unchanged, and we have been clear about this.

The State Department said the U.S.s consistent message to regional partners who are engaging with the Syrian government has been that credible steps to improve the situation for the Syrian people should be front and center in any engagement.

According to officials, Iran has launched 80 attacks against U.S. forces and locations in Iraq and Syria since January 2021. The vast majority of those have been in Syria.

The U.S. under Biden has struck Syria previously over tensions with Iran in February and June of 2021, as well as August 2022.

Syrias conflict that began in 2011 has left nearly half a million people dead.

___

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.

Read more:
Iran-backed fighters on alert in east Syria after US strikes - The Associated Press

Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian disclosed on 27 March that the Islamic Republic has extended an invitation to Saudi Arabias King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to visit Iran.

The Iranian foreign minister revealed Tehrans request during an interview with Al Jazeera TV, adding that the Saudi monarch already invited Irans President Ibrahim Raisi for a visit to the kingdom.

This development comes weeks after Saudi Arabia and Iranannouncedtheresumptionof diplomatic relations after a series of secret talks held in Beijing between Tehran and Riyadh.

Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh were severed in 2016, after Riyadh executed prominent Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, and Iranian demonstrators attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the eastern city of Mashhad in response.

During the interview, Amir-Abdollahian further remarked, there is a law proposal in parliament to put a ceiling on the nuclear negotiations, and the door to dialogue will not remain open, in reference to Tehrans consistent commitments to cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The foreign minister also affirmed Irans appreciation for Qatars role in assisting Tehran in reviving the nuclear talks under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement, as Doha is currentlyrelaying messages between Iran and other member nations of the 2015 nuclear deal, in a bid to resume the stalled talks.

Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany held several rounds of negotiations in Vienna in 2021 to restore the agreement, which former US President Donald Trump abandoned in May 2018 to exert maximum pressure on Tehran; however, talks came to halt in 2022.

Doha and Tehran currently strive to boost bilateral cooperation, with both signing14 agreementslast year intended to strengthen ties in various educational and economic sectors, including tourism.

Thestrengtheningof bilateral ties between the two also materialized in Qatars vocal support for reviving JCPOA.

See the article here:
Iran extends invitation to Saudi King - The Cradle

Irans Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic is going to invite King of Saudi Arabia to visit Tehran even though the ageing monarchs last foreign visit was four years ago.

In a bid to show the success of the recent detente with its regional rival, Abdollahian has been overblowing the ideas of a royal visit.

The ageing Saudi kings last foreign trip was in 2019, since then, his son and de facto ruler, Mohammed Bin Salman, taking over all overseas duties. In spite of denials from the kingdom, it is widely believed the King has dementia and his role in public life continues to lessen.

The countrys foreign ministers, Saudis Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, have spoken twice over the last week to discuss details of the new relations, after a deal brokered by Beijing broke a diplomatic deadlock dating back to 2016.

Pro-regime mobs attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran following the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia, causing years of hostility.

However, as Irans proxy militia in Yemen, the Houthis, continues to attack Saudi-led coalition in spite of a weak ceasefire, it will not be plain sailing as the two rivals thrash out the fine print.

Iran will no doubt be reluctant to abide by the conditions of exerting greater control over its proxy militia which has been the thorn in Saudis side since the war in Yemen broke out eight years ago.

Read more here:
Iran To Invite Saudi King To Visit Tehran: FM -

As the US weighs Iran's destabilizing actions across the Middle East, the United States now has to deal with Tehrans expanding cyber cooperation with Russia.

Challenges posed by Iran continue to grow, forcing the Biden administration to take more of a hands-on approach to the regime than it possibly wanted.

While Iran supplies drones and reportedly other weapons to Russia, its proxy forces attacked US bases in Syria last week, with the US launching a rare retaliatory strike, but emphasizing its goal of avoiding a wider conflict with Tehran.

The WSJ reported Monday that Moscows burgeoning military cooperation with Tehran includes a plan to help its sanctioned allys cyberwarfare capabilities, according to the Journals sources.

The US State Department has avoided a direct response to the report. Deputy spokesperson of the US State Department Vedant Patel was asked during his press briefing Monday to react though strangely, said he had not seen it, although the article was published hours before the briefing took place.

Patel did, however, publicly comment that there is no doubt about the concern felt in the White House. What I will say is that of course Russias deepening of relationships with malign actors like Iran continues to be a deep concern, he said.

He added, We have seen the havoc caused by Iranian-made drones that Russia has unleashed on Kyiv, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure, so of course this relationship is one that we are paying close attention to.

Iran, which never condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine, began supplying kamikaze drones to its ally in mid-2022. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned in mid-July that Russia was seeking to obtain Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from the Islamic Republic.

The first Iranian drones were used by Russia in noticeable numbers in October and first evidence of a UAV downed by Ukraine emerged on October 6.

Parts of an Iranian drone shot down in Ukraine on October 6, 2022

The WSJ quoted sources as saying that Russia has been providing Iran with communication, surveillance and eavesdropping capabilities, photography devices and lie detectors from the start of the war in Ukraine.

This is when talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran broke up, despite intense Western efforts to reach a compromise with Iran. In August, the European Union offered one final plan that according to Washington Tehran did not accept, by putting forth new unacceptable demands.

It is not clear to what extent Russias technical assistance is geared toward boosting military capabilities or Irans policing resources against dissidents. Surveillance technology in many cases can have dual use too. Tehran already has an extensive system of digital surveillance over its population much like China and it widely censors the internet.

As local media is under heavy government control, Iranians rely on messaging apps to receive news and exchange information. This becomes even more crucial during protests, when news about rallies and gatherings becomes a mobilization tool for protesters.

The government banned Instagram, the one accessible major platform last year to prevent communication between the people and news reaching the outside world about the protests.

Seeing this as insufficient, authorities also resorted to denying access to the Internet in wide swaths of the country for months, hurting millions of people who relied on digital commerce to make a living.

China has also been assisting Irans digital surveillance programs. In December, the United States blacklisted Chinas Tiandy Technologies for supplying video surveillance equipment to the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).

Western countries, Israel and Saudi Arabia have in the past reported frequent Iranian cyber-attacks on government and private institutions. Social media giants Facebook and Twitter have closed thousands of fake Iranian accounts for spreading disinformation.

What this means for Iranians and for wider geo-politics is yet to be seen, but what is clear, is that the desire for Biden to quietly leave the Middle East behind, is ever-more unlikely.

Excerpt from:
Russia, Iran Military Cooperation Expands To Digital Surveillance -

board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter while departing a remote combat outpost known as RLZ on May 25, 2021 near the Turkish border in northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB operate from combat outposts in the area, coordinating with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists and deterring pro-Iranian militia. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)Getty Images

The recent Iranian proxy attack in Syria, targeting US bases, highlights a crucial moment in the region's dynamics. Tehran has probed the political resolve of its formidable opponent in Syria, and thus far, the outcome of the test seems unlikely to dissuade Iran from launching additional proxy offensives.

On the night of March 23rd, a drone of Iranian origin targeted a US base in north-east Syria. In response, the US carried out airstrikes, killing fourteen pro-Iran fighters, as reported by a monitoring group. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said they had targeted "facilities used by groups affiliated with... [the] IRGC," marking the first time an attack on US bases in Syria resulted in a casualty.

The inability of the bases air defense systems to prevent Iran's kamikaze drone attack raises questions.

The attack's timing is significant. High-level US military visits to the region and China-forged diplomatic rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia preceded the strike. Iranian strategists may perceive these events as signs of US weakness in the Middle East and Syria. The attack highlights the need for the US to adapt its strategy and respond to shifting power balances.

The recent high-level visits by the US military, including the US' top general Mark Milley, have potentially raised concerns among Iran's leadership and Turkey about a renewed US commitment to the region.

Following an unannounced visit to a base in the country's northeast to meet with US troops, Army General Milley asserted that the nearly eight-year-old US deployment to Syria for combating Islamic State remains a risk worth taking.

The Chinese-brokered diplomatic rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia has introduced an additional layer of complexity to the regional landscape. The driving force behind the Iranian proxy attack is a combination of fear and perceived US weakness in Syria.

The Iranian attack transpired during a moment when the US appeared vulnerable in the Middle East, particularly in Syria. The US presence in the country draws criticism not only from Russia and Iran but also from Turkey, a NATO partner. The US' failure to secure Turkey's cooperation highlights the perceived weakness of American political resolve in the eyes of Iran.

Furthermore, the US strategy in Syria suffers from fragmentation. Washington has been unable to successfully link its anti-Islamic State efforts with its anti-Assad and anti-Iranian objectives within the country. This fragmentation becomes evident when the US allows Turkish authorities to use airspace to target members of the US-allied Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and refrains from extending any political recognition to the Kurdish-led, US-backed groups. As a result, this mix of perceived weakness and strategic fragmentation leaves the US exposed in the region and susceptible to further Iranian proxy attacks.

The assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in 2020 further strained US-Iran relations, leading Iran to vow retaliation. While Iran has made symbolic moves, they have not been able to carry through their threats as strongly as they had threatened.

Iran likely interpreted President Biden's remarks after the attack, in which he stated that the US does not want to seek conflict with Iran, as a sign of weakness. This defensive stance does not deter Iran, leaving the US vulnerable to future attacks.

Asserting a bold stance, Keyvan Khosravi, the spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council, addressed the US retaliation on March 25th. He stated, "Any pretext to attack bases established at the request of the Syrian government to combat terrorism and Daesh [Islamic State, IS] within that nation's borders will be met with an immediate response."

Approximately 900 US troops operate in southern and eastern Syria, as part of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (IS).

As the US remains in a defensive position without a coherent strategy, more Iranian attacks in Syria could be expected.

Rectifying the fragmentation in the US approach to Syria is essential for the administration, as various entities pursue disjointed strategies.

Developing a clear strategy that connects anti-IS, anti-Assad, and anti-Iran efforts is crucial for the US to regain its footing in the region and effectively counter future Iranian attacks.

As a London-based research analyst and journalist, I focus on Turkey, the Middle East, and their relationships with Europe, the U.S., and Russia. I frequently visit the region and have a wealth of experience in the field, having previously advised the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee as a Specialist Adviser. I am currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge and have a background in journalism, having worked for over a decade at the BBC News. Additionally, I worked at notable think tanks such as the SWP-Berlin, ECFR, and MEI.

Continued here:
Iran Tests US Resolve And Fragmented Strategy In Syria: Causes And Consequences - Forbes