President Raisi visited Syria and met with President Bashar al-Assad, asserting: “Just as the Islamic Republic stood by the Syrian government and nation in the fight against terrorism, it will also stand by its Syrian brothers in the field of development and progress". The two sides inked a “Comprehensive Program of Strategic and Long-Term Cooperation”, and fourteen other agreements in various fields, including oil and energy. Raisi, who described his trip within Iran’s ”framework of supporting the resistance”, also reiterated that “the presence of Americans in Syria not only does not create security, but also disrupts the security of Syria and the region. The faster the Americans leave Syria, the more secure Syria will be”. A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson maintained that “the Iranian regime and the Assad regime continuing to deepen their ties should be of great concern to not just our allies and partners and countries in the region, but also the world broadly”, adding: “We will not normalise relations with the Assad regime. And we do not support others normalising with Damascus either… The U.S. believes that a political solution that is outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 is the only viable solution to this conflict in Syria”. The following day, Raisi met with Palestinians in Damascus, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials, insisting that “the unity and cohesion of the resistance forces, the region and the Islamic world is necessary to accelerate the defeat of the Zionist regime [ie, Israel] and the liberation of the Holy Quds and the sovereignty of the Palestinians over their destiny”.

Amid a visit by Syria’s foreign minister to Saudi Arabia, a U.S. official asserted that “our position is clear: we will not normalise relations with the Assad regime absent real progress towards a political solution to the underlying conflict… We have also made clear that the core architecture of our sanctions remains firmly in place”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reported that “service members responded to an indirect fire attack in the Deir al-Zor region. There were no Coalition casualties and no damage to Coalition infrastructure”.

Iran’s UN ambassador wrote to the Security Council condemning U.S. 23 March strikes in Syria, and maintaining that Iran had “never been involved, directly or indirectly, in any attacks against the U.S. military forces in Syria and Iraq”. He called on the U.S. to “end its illegal occupation” of Syrian territory, while maintaining: “Iran’s presence in Syria is fully legal and is based on a formal request and consent from the Syrian government to provide assistance and support in the fight against terrorism. The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its inherent right to self-defence under international law and will take decisive measures to protect its forces, interests and facilities from any threat or unlawful act perpetrated by the U.S. or others”.

A Pentagon spokesperson stated that “we now assess that eight militants were killed in our [23 March] strikes against two IRGC Quds Force facilities near Deir al-Zor”. He also confirmed seven injuries, and that “there were additional six U.S. service members that have subsequently diagnosed with traumatic brain injury as a result of Iranian backed attacks” on 23-24 March. The spokesperson further reiterated that “we will take all necessary measures to protect our troops and our interests overseas. To underscore, in response to a pattern of Iranian and Iran-backed attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria and the continuing threat of future such attacks the U.S. has taken and, as necessary, will continue to, take actions against IRGC and its affiliates. This includes the use of force against IRGC and IRGC affiliate personnel and facilities in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility with the intention to convince the Iranians to de-escalate threats against the U.S., our interests and our people.… We do not seek conflict with Iran but we will always protect our people”. On 13 April, a CENTCOM spokesperson confirmed 25 total U.S. casualties during the various exchanges.

The spokesperson for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) warned that “any pretext for attacking the bases created at the request of the Syrian government to fight with terrorism and ISIL[/ISIS] operatives in that country will be immediately met with a reciprocal response… Iran has suffered a lot in the battle against foreign-backed terrorism to reestablish durable security in Syria, and it opposes any action that endangers the stability of that country”. He also claimed that “the U.S. role in creating and supporting ISIL as a proxy in line with its political objectives in Syria and Iraq is evident… In the past two days, American helicopters with several sorties have transferred ISIL terrorists in Syria with the aim of increasing instability in the country, something that they have to be held to account for”.

The Pentagon announced it had carried out airstrikes in eastern Syria targeting what it described as "facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)" in response to a UAV attack that killed a U.S. contractor; six others (one contractor and five service members) were injured. It further noted that "the intelligence community assess the UAV to be of Iranian origin". The following day, U.S. Central Command reported that a compound housing troops from the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition had been targeted with ten rockets. There were no injuries or damages at the facility, but four civilians were wounded in the attack. A U.S. service member was injured in a separate incident at Mission Support Site Conoco. President Biden asserted that “the U.S. does not… seek conflict with Iran, but be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people”. On 25 March, Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson condemned the U.S. strikes against what he described as “civilian targets”, rejected U.S. allegations against Iran and emphasised that “Iran’s military advisors are in Syria at the request of the Syrian government for the purpose of helping the country in its struggle against terrorism”.

A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson reaffirmed that “we will not normalise with the Assad regime, nor will we encourage others, absent authentic and enduring progress towards a political resolution in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254… We continue to urge anybody engaging with Damascus to consider sincerely and thoroughly how their engagements can help provide for Syrians in need, no matter where they live”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reported that “two 107mm rockets targeted Coalition Forces east of Deir al-Zor… The attacks resulted in no injuries or damage and the incident is under investigation”.

Syrian state media reported that the blast from an ISIS landmine killed three and injured seven; unconfirmed account suggested the incident was a drone attack. 

CENTCOM confirmed that “two rockets [had] landed near Coalition Forces at Green Village in north east Syria”, causing no casualties or damage. There was no indication by CENTCOM of who was responsible, but the following day Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu contended: “Iran attacked an Iranian base in Syria”.

CENTCOM reported that “U.S. forces in Syria engaged and shot down an Iranian-manufactured UAV attempting to conduct reconnaissance of Mission Support Site Conoco” in north east Syria.

A senior U.S. defence official stressed that “our forces [in Iraq and Syria] are under constant threat from Iranian-aligned militia groups who seek to constantly harass our forces, which detracts and undermines our ability to continue prosecuting the defeat ISIS mission, and it also directly undermines, threatens and jeopardises the recovery efforts of those local communities who, only a few years ago, were under ISIS caliphate rule, experiencing the worst depravities and atrocities. So it’s truly destabilising”. She further asserted that “we hold Iran accountable and responsible for these attacks because Iran is arming, training, equipping and guiding these groups”.

Unconfirmed media accounts reported that “drones attacked a convoy of trucks” after crossing into Syria from Iraq via the al-Bukamal border.

Iran’s UN envoy told the Security Council that “the presence of foreign forces in the north of Syria under the pretext of combating terrorism should not be used to violate and undermine Syria’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity... In order to create conducive grounds for ending the crisis in Syria, all uninvited foreign forces must leave that country without any precondition or delay, and terrorist groups must be confronted”. He further urged the Council to “compel the Israeli regime to end all acts of aggression against Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity immediately”.

Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi reported that “we crossed 52 operations [against Iranian-related targets] in 2022”, adding: “Iran still has a desire… to put weapons and advanced capabilities in Syria… but there is no doubt that we have prevented what was supposed to be there. They wanted hundreds of surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles. They wanted tens of thousands of militiamen and a second Hizbollah. All of this was thwarted completely”. Asserting that the IDF had stopped more than 90 per cent of Iranian arms going into Syria, Kohavi noted: “Some of our action is to block the crossings – by air, ground or sea – and some is to hunt what gets in. Just look at the media reports and understand where we operate”.

CENTCOM reported that “two rockets targeted coalition forces at Mission Support Site Conoco, north east Syria… The attack resulted in no injuries or damage to the base or coalition property”.

Israel’s military chief of staff indicated that “we could have not been aware of the Syrian convoy a few weeks ago. We could have not known that it was heading from Iraq to Syria, we could have not known what’s in it and we could have not known that out of the 25 trucks, truck number eight was the one carrying weapons… We needed to send pilots to the right place and they had to evade surface-to-air missiles fired at them. They needed to attack, they needed to hit their targets and come back safely and not kill people who shouldn’t be killed. These are very advanced capabilities”.

Iran’s UN envoy told the Security Council that “security and stability in the north of Syria can only be achieved by preserving and fully respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and any military operation in the north of Syria would only make the already challenging humanitarian situation even worst”, while denouncing what he described as “the robbery of Syrian people’s natural resources, particularly oil products, in areas occupied by foreign forces”. He further asked the Council to condemn “ongoing aggressions and terrorist attacks of the Israeli regime against Syria”. “[Israel’s] systematic and intentional targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly the attacks on commercial airports and humanitarian shipments, are a flagrant violation of international law”, he added, while underscoring Syria’s right to self-defence.

CENTCOM reported that “two rockets [had] targeted coalition forces at the U.S. patrol base in al-Shaddadi… The attack resulted in no injuries or damage”. A spokesperson asserted: “Attacks of this kind place coalition forces and the civilian populace at risk and undermine the hard-earned stability and security of Syria and the region”.

CENTCOM reported that “rockets [had] targeted Coalition Forces at the Green Village base in north east Syria. The attack resulted in no injuries or damage to the base or coalition property”.

A U.S. official denied U.S. involvement in an airstrike against a purported fuel convoy at the Syria-Iraq border; media reports citing “people familiar with attack” suggested that Israel had been targeting a suspected arms shipment.

CENTCOM reported that “a 107mm rocket attack targeting Coalition Forces near the Rumalyn Landing Zone failed”.

A senior CENTCOM commander indicated that “we’re in a kind of uneasy statis” in terms of tensions between U.S. and Iran-backed forces, adding: “Things have kind of settled down, and there's an understanding, I think, amongst the Iranians and the [IRGC] Quds Force, that if they were to do something or to direct something against us, it would blow back on them”. 

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition confirmed that “indirect fire [had] struck in the vicinity of Green Village in Eastern Syria, constituting an attempted attack on our coalition forces and partners. There were no casualties or damage to infrastructure”. The coalition’s commander asserted that “actions like this are irresponsible and are attempts to distract our Partner Forces from their mission to clear ISIS. Due to its indiscriminate nature, the choice of weapon and the reckless manner of its use has needlessly put the lives of innocent civilians at risk”.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid asserted that “Israel is working to prevent Iran from establishing terrorist bases throughout the Middle East and especially in Syria… Israel will not allow Syria to be used as an axis for the transfer of weapons to terrorist organisations, and will not accept the establishment of Iranian bases or militia bases on our northern border”. The following day, Defence Minister Benny Gantz posited that Iran had built “production facilities [in Syria] for mid- and long-range precise missiles and weapons, provided to Hizbollah and Iranian proxies. In other words, it became yet another Iranian front – a factory for advanced, strategic weapons”. “These sites, particularly the underground facility at Masyaf”, Gantz added, “host significant threats to the region and to the State of Israel… Masyaf, specifically, is used to produce advanced missiles”. He also said, “the Iranians are currently working to build missile and weapon industries in Lebanon and Yemen… If this trend will not be stopped, within a decade, there will be advanced Iranian industries across the region, producing weapons and spreading terror”.

President Biden conferred with Prime Minister Yair Lapid “to consult on global and regional security challenges, including threats posed by Iran” and reiterated the “U.S. commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon”. The Israeli readout also noted Lapid underscoring “the importance of the strikes President Biden ordered in Syria”.

CENTCOM confirmed U.S. airstrikes in Deir al-Zor “intended to defend and protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on August 15 against U.S. personnel by Iran-backed groups. The U.S. strikes targeted infrastructure facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson called the operation “a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and asserted: “The sites targeted had no links to the Islamic Republic”. A senior Pentagon official said “we believe we have Iran dead to rights on attribution” regarding the 15 August attacks, adding: “Whether the JCPOA is reborn or not, it actually has nothing to do without willingness and resolve to defend ourselves. And I think the strike… was a pretty clear communication to the Iranians, that these things are on different tracks”. On 24 August CENTCOM announced that “U.S. forces responded… to rocket attacks at two sites in Syria” that injured three U.S. service members, with “initial assessments… that two or three suspected Iran-backed militants conducting one of the attacks were killed”. The following day it reported that operations with helicopters and artillery against “Iran affiliated militants… result[ed] in four enemy fighters killed and seven enemy rocket launchers destroyed”.

Iran, Russia and Turkey convened a meeting of the “Astana Process” talks over Syria and jointly reaffirmed “their determination to continue working together to combat terrorism”, “rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism, including illegitimate self-rule initiatives” and “expressed their opposition to the illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues that should belong to Syria”. The three countries also condemned “the continuing Israeli military attacks in Syria including civilian infrastructures... as destabilising and intensifying the tension in the region”.

President Raisi told Syria’s foreign minister that “America’s withdrawal from east of the Euphrates and the entire region is the basic and root solution to the crises in West Asia”. The same day, Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian conferred with his Syrian counterpart on “ways forward for all-out expansion of ties between the two countries, regional developments and international issues”.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told Russian President Putin that “the occupation of the oil-rich areas east of the Euphrates by the Americans… should be resolved by expelling them from that area”. Relatedly, the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reaffirmed its commitment “to empowering and equipping our Partner Forces with skills and knowledge to provide fully capable local forces to defend north east Syria and its people against terrorist networks, contributing to peace and regional stability”.

During a visit to Damascus, Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian told President Bashar al-Assad that “we are opposed to use of military operations to resolve problems… Problems must be solved and concerns must be dispelled through direct talks and cooperation”. He also offered “unwavering support for the resistance to ensure lasting security in the region against the threats posed by the fake Israeli regime”. Amirabdollahian also conferred with his Syrian counterpart on “the capacities of both states for further enhancement of mutual relations in political, economic, industrial and commercial fields”, noting that “Iran’s technical and engineering capabilities can contribute to the implementation of the two countries’ joint big projects”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian conferred with his Syrian counterpart on bilateral relations while reiterating “Iran’s determination to provide necessary assistance to Syria to overcome the negative impacts of the Western coercive measures imposed on the country”.

Referring to the transfer by Iran of what he described as “accurate munitions” to its regional allies, Defence Minister Benny Gantz declared: “Israel will continue to halt these efforts and prevent the threat to its citizens and the region”, adding: “The quantity of this strategic weapon in the hands of Iranian emissaries has increased significantly in the past year. In Iraq, there are hundreds of [munitions]; many dozens have been added this year. In Yemen, the number of [munitions] has increased in the past year, and the Huthis hold dozens of them”.

The U.S. announced a general license “authorising specific economic activities in certain non-regime-held areas of north east and north west Syria”, asserting that it “supports the Biden Administration’s strategy to defeat ISIS by promoting economic stabilisation in areas liberated from the terrorist group’s control”. The State Department noted that “the authorisation does not permit any activity with the Government of Syria or other sanctions persons”, and went on to underscore that it did “not indicate any shift in the Administration’s policy towards the Assad regime”.

President Bashar al-Assad visited Tehran and met with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Raisi.

Syrian state media reported airstrikes in eastern Syria.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz indicated that “Israel is operating against weapons transfers and other Iranian threats. In the recent period, we are seeing more stability in Syria and I see that there is some activity between Syria and members of the Arab League. If Assad wishes to be part of the [near] region, he will have to [cut] his negative ties to Iran and the terror that emanates from Syria”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reported that “U.S. air defence systems shot down an armed aerial system entering Al Asad Air Base”, causing no injuries.

The U.S.-led counter ISIS coalition reported that “Coalition forces at Green Village in Eastern Syria received two rounds of indirect fire that struck two support buildings… four U.S. servicemembers are being evaluated for minor injuries and possible traumatic brain injuries”.  

Iran’s UN envoy told the Security Council that “Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be jeopardised in the name of fighting terrorism.… All occupying and uninvited foreign forces, including those of the U.S., must leave the country immediately and without any conditions”. He further denounced Israel’s “repeated violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, urging the Council to hold Israel “accountable for such acts of aggression and malice, as well as its blatant threats to use force against other regional countries”.

During a visit to Damascus, Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian conferred with President Bashar al-Assad on, inter alia, “the expansion of economic cooperation” and also hailed “the trend of the normalisation of ties between regional countries and Syria”, while highlighting that “as for regional tensions, the Islamic Republic opposes any war and supports resolution of disputes through dialogue and political means”.

CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie described Iran as “the greatest single day-to-day threat to regional security and stability”, noting that “the risk of miscalculation and escalation remains high because of Iran's strategic calculation that it can simultaneously and discretely engage in diplomacy with and a proxy campaign against the U.S.”. McKenzie's statement to a Senate committee further addressed the role of Iran and Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Iran’s UN ambassador told the Security Council that “the fight against terrorism cannot be used as an excuse to undermine Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The illegal presence of foreign forces in parts of Syria which has provided favorable conditions for terrorist activities in Syria, must end immediately”. The Iranian diplomat further denounced Israel’s “repeated violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity… We call on the Security Council to hold this regime accountable for such acts of aggression and its malign activities as well as its open threats to use force against other regional countries”. The following day, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, met with his Syrian counterpart.

President Biden announced that “we have taken off the battlefield… the leader of ISIS” as the result of a military operation in north-western Syria.

A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson reaffirmed that “we continue to believe that now is not the time for normalisation [with Syria under Assad]. Now continues to be the time for accountability for the atrocities of the regime”.

The U.S.’s UN envoy told the Security Council that Washington’s goals in Syria included “sustaining the U.S. and Coalition campaign to prevent the resurgence of ISIS… [and] to support a political process, one led by the Syrian people, as envisioned and agreed by this Council in Resolution 2254”. During the same session, Iran’s ambassador maintained that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria continues to be seriously violated either through the occupation of parts of the country or by the aggression of the Israeli regime and the terrorists… While the Syrian crisis has no military solution, it cannot also come to an end without ending its occupation, restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity and confronting the threat of terrorism”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reported that its “forces were targeted… by eight rounds of indirect fire at Green Village, a Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small Coalition advisory presence, in north east Syria”; minor damage was reported. In response, according to the statement, the coalition “fired six rounds of artillery towards the point of origin of the attack... The Iran-supported malign actors fired on the Coalition and SDF from within civilian infrastructure”. The statement added that “hours before the attack, Coalition forces observed several launch sites of indirect fire rockets that posed an imminent threat in the vicinity of Green Village. Acting in self-defence, Coalition forces conducted several strikes to eliminate the observed threats”. A coalition official underscored that “the Coalition reserves the right to defend itself and partner forces against any threat”, while noting: “the Coalition continues to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition struck what the Pentagon described as an area it believed was “going to be used as launch sites for attacks on Green Village”, a coalition base in north-eastern Syria.

An Iranian diplomat told the Security Council that it “must compel the Israeli regime to end the occupation of the Syrian Golan and also stop immediately its aggressions against Syria”, adding: “all occupying and uninvited foreign forces must leave that country without any precondition or further delay”.

The U.S. designated “two Syrian Air Force officers responsible for chemical weapons attacks on civilians, and three Syrian intelligence officers in Syria’s repressive security and intelligence apparatus”.  

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan assessed that “since Donald Trump made the decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018, Hizbollah has continued to menace Lebanon and the region. Iran’s proxies in Iraq and Syria and Yemen have continued to move forward. So, not being in the nuclear deal has hardly been a solution to the proxy”. He further asserted that “nothing about the nuclear deal stops the U.S.’s capacity to deal with those proxies. And we are prepared to do so”, adding: “ultimately, an Iran with a nuclear weapon is going to be a greater menace in partnerships with its proxies than Iran without one. And so it is our determination to ensure they never get a nuclear weapon, and diplomacy is the best way forward”.

Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian met with his Syrian counterpart and noted “the need for special focus on promoting economic and trade relations”. He further denounced “the Zionist [ie, Israeli] regime’s aggression against Syria”, and charachterised “the military presence of foreign forces without coordination with and permission from the Syrian government as a source of insecurity in the region, particularly in Syria”. The Syrian minister also met with President Raisi, who asserted that “comprehensive planning should be done to develop and deepen relations”.

On the sideline of a military drill in northern Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett asserted that “we are surrounded by security challenges and the goal is to utilise periods of relative quiet to build up strength”, adding: “we are dealing with Iran and its proxies, in Lebanon and Syria. It does not matter what occurs between Iran and the major powers. We are concerned by the fact that there is not enough firmness in the face of the Iranian violations; Israel will defend itself, by itself”. Speaking alongside Bennett, Defence Minister Benny Gantz remarked that “the world needs to take action against Iran, and Israel needs to continue to do what it needs to on all fronts in general, and on the northern front in particular”.

The U.S. State Department underscored that “terrorist groups like ISIS in Syria directly threaten U.S. national security and the Syrian people. The U.S. remains committed to the military mission against ISIS. We will maintain our mission in Syria until the threat posed by the terrorist group is eliminated”.

Iran’s UN envoy told the Security Council that “the occupation of parts of Syria by foreign forces must come to an end... all occupying and uninvited foreign forces must leave that country without any precondition or further delay”. He further urged the Council to “compel the Israeli regime to end the occupation of the Syrian Golan and also stop immediately its aggressions against Syria”. The official also denounced “in the strongest terms” the killing of a former Syrian lawmaker, which he attributed to Israel, “as well as all violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria by the Israeli regime”, noting “Syria’s inherent right to self-defence and to respond at a time and place of its choosing”.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked that “keeping violence down; increasing humanitarian assistance and focusing our military efforts on any terrorist groups that pose a threat to us or to our partners, with the intent and capacity to do that… are going to be the critical areas of focus for us, and they’re also, I think, important to advancing a broader political settlement to the Syrian conflict consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2254”. He further noted that “what we have not done and what we do not intend to do is to express any support for efforts to normalise relations or rehabilitate Mr. Assad, or lifted a single sanction on Syria or changed our position to oppose the reconstruction of Syria until there is irreversible progress toward a political solution”.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett asserted that “Iran, which has dispatched proxies and built armies to surround the State of Israel, aspires to build yet another army on the border of the Golan Heights. We will continue to act wherever and whenever necessary, at our initiative, and on a daily basis, in order to roll up the Iranian presence in Syria. They have nothing to look for there”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian visited Damascus and met with President Bashar al-Assad and other senior Syrian officials. During his trip, Amirabdollahian asserted that “our ties with Syria are strategic and we are trying to expand our cooperation with the country in all fields. Syria is on the path of development and progress, and on this path, Iran will strongly stand by Damascus, as it did during the war on terrorists”.

Iran’s UN ambassador told the Security Council that “occupation of parts of Syria by foreign forces must come to an end. Accordingly, all uninvited foreign forces must leave that country without any precondition or further delay”. He further maintained that “the Security Council must live up to its responsibility and compel the Israeli regime to put an immediate end to its acts of aggression against sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria”, adding: “such adventuristic practices, which we condemn in the strongest terms, constitute flagrant violations of international law, threatening regional and international peace and security”.

Media reports indicated that “unidentified aircraft [had] hit a base run by Iranian-backed militias” near the Syria-Iraq border.

A spokesperson for the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition indicated that “the coalition continues to foster our partnership with Maghawir a-Thawra as working and training together [to] present a strong and unified front that is capable of deterring a Daesh resurgence and any potential threat in and around al-Tanf Garrison”.

Responding to reports of airstrikes near the Syria-Iraq border, a spokesperson for the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition indicated that the coalition “did not conduct air strikes in al-Bukamal”.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid contended that “there won’t be stability in Syria, or in the wider Middle East, while there is an Iranian presence… [Israel] will not sit quietly by while Iran builds terror bases on our northern border or while Iran supplies advanced weapons to terror organisations”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian visited Syria and met with senior officials including President Bashar al-Assad. According to a Syrian readout, the two conferred on, inter alia, “steps… to enhance bilateral cooperation with the aim of reaching a higher level of partnerships at various levels, particularly in the economic and trade fields, in a way that enables the two peoples to continue facing the repercussions of the blockade and sanctions imposed on the two countries”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reported that “Coalition aircraft successfully engaged and defeated a UAS through air to air engagement” in eastern Syria; unnamed officials were cited as saying that the drone was Iranian.

The U.S. announced that it had “applied the measures authorised in Section 3 of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act” against, inter alia, Kataeb Hizbollah, Asaeb Ahl al-Haq and Lebanese Hizbollah.

The U.S. designated “eight Syrian prisons run by the Assad regime’s intelligence apparatus… and five senior security officials of regime entities that control these detention facilities”. It also blacklisted “Syrian armed group Ahrar al-Sharqiya… [and] two of the group’s leaders”.

A U.S. defence official confirmed what was described as “an indirect fire attack in Conoco”, a facility in eastern Syria where U.S. forces are located. There were “no casualties, injuries [or] structural damage” reported. 

A senior U.S. diplomat remarked that “I understand that some of these militias completely disagree with what the U.S. is trying to do in Iraq fighting ISIS, but we’re asking them, we’re demanding, that they just leave us along and we’ll leave them alone, so that we can fight this common enemy, which is ISIS”.

The spokesperson for the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition reported that “Ain al-Assad Air Base was attacked by fourteen rockets. The rockets landed on the base and perimeter”. He further reported “minor injuries” to two personnel at the facility, and Iraqi security forces confirmed “damages to local home and a Mosque”. The same day, the Syrian Democratic Forces reported thwarting a drone attack “on a base housing members of the U.S.-led coalition in eastern Syria”. 

In a letter to the president of the Security Council, Iran’s UN envoy insisted that “Iran has not been involved, directly or indirectly, in any armed attack by any entity or individual against U.S. personnel or facilities in Iraq”. The ambassador also condemned “in the strongest terms” 27 June U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, adding: “the argument of the U.S. that such attacks were conducted to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran and the so-called Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on U.S. personnel or facilities has no factual or legal ground, as it is founded on mere fabrication as well as arbitrary interpretation” of the UN charter.

The Pentagon announced that it had carried out “defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region”, noting that “these facilities are utilised by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq”. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted that “we took necessary, appropriate, deliberate action that is designed to limit the risk of escalation, but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message”. An Iraqi defence official argued that the operation constituted “a blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty”, and Iran’s foreign ministry maintained that the U.S. was “upsetting security in the region”. Later in the day, a spokesperson for the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition confirmed that “U.S. Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets”, with no casualties reported, and subsequently announced that “U.S. Forces in Syria, while under multiple rocket attack, acted in self-defence and conducted counter-battery artillery fire at rocket launching positions”.

The foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS issued a joint statement expressing their commitment “to strengthening cooperation across all Coalition lines of effort in order to ensure that Daesh/ISIS Core in Iraq and Syria”. On Iraq, they deplored “the continuing attacks against Coalition personnel and convoys, and diplomatic facilities, emphasising the importance of the Government of Iraq protecting Coalition assets”, while hailing “the incremental expansion of NATO’s non-combat advisory, training and capacity building mission”. Regarding Syria, the ministers backed “a lasting political settlement in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254”, while noting that “the Coalition continues to support inclusive local recovery and stabilisation in areas liberated from Daesh/ISIS and reconciliation and reintegration efforts to foster conditions conducive to a Syria-wide political resolution to the conflict under the parameters of UN Security Council Resolution 2254”.

The U.S. along with eighteen countries, the League of Arab States and the European Union jointly reiterated “strong support for UN-led efforts to implement all aspects of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, including continued support for an immediate nation-wide ceasefire, the unimpeded and safe delivery of aid, and the Constitutional Committee, as well as fighting against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”. Emphasising “the unity and territorial integrity of Syria”, they expressed commitments “to continue working actively to reach a credible, sustainable and inclusive political solution based on Resolution 2254”.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Iran’s envoy called for preserving “the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria through ending the occupation of its territory including the occupied Syrian Golan, withdrawing of all uninvited foreign forces from that country, ceasing to support any separatist tendencies or illegitimate self-rule initiatives and preventing the violation of Syrian sovereignty particularly by acts of aggression of the Israeli regime”.

A Pentagon spokesperson underscored that “nothing’s changed about the [U.S.’s] mission in Syria, which is about counter-ISIS operations, in keeping with the work that the coalition has been doing since 2014. It is certainly a small presence, less than 1,000”. He also indicated that “we as a government would simply urge all actors act in such a way inside Syria so as to not contribute more to the instability, the insecurity and rather in fact contribute to a peaceful political outcome”.

During a visit to north east Syria, a senior U.S. diplomat affirmed “the U.S. commitment to cooperation and coordination in the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, continued stability in north east Syria and the delivery of stabilisation assistance to liberated areas to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS”. He further expressed “commitment to support all efforts toward a political resolution of the Syrian conflict” and emphasised that “the U.S. will continue to be a leader in the Syrian humanitarian response while working with like-minded countries to ensure the reauthorisation of cross-border assistance into Syria”.

U.S. CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie reported that “since the beginning of the year, Iranian-aligned militia groups (IAMGs) in Iraq and Syria likely conducted more than 50 improvised explosive device attacks against Iraqi-operated, Coalition-contracted logistical convoys, and nine indirect fire attacks against U.S. diplomatic facilities or Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. and Coalition personnel”. McKenzie further noted that Iran “uses a combination of coercion and IAMG violence to bring about the removal of U.S. forces from Iraq, despite U.S. and Coalition forces being in Iraq at the request of the Government of Iraq (GoI). Iran’s political maneuverings toward this end have failed to date, while the U.S. and GoI continue strategic dialogue to maintain momentum in the Global Defeat ISIS (D-ISIS) campaign”.

The U.S. Intelligence Community’s 2021 Annual Threat Assessment indicated that “Iran is determined to maintain influence in Syria… [It] is pursuing a permanent military presence and economic deals in Syria as the conflict winds down there. Tehran almost certainly wants these things to build its regional influence, support Hizbollah and threaten Israel”. The report further assessed that “U.S. forces in eastern Syria will face threats from Iranian and Syrian-regime-aligned groups, mostly through deniable attacks”.

The U.S. unveiled “more than $596 million in new humanitarian assistance to respond to the Syrian crisis”, with the U.S. UN ambassador underscoring the importance of “unhindered humanitarian access and aid to all Syrians in need through all avenues available, including through cross-border assistance”.

The foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Small Group issued a communique reiterating “shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and to create conditions for an enduring defeat of the terrorist group”. The ministers expressed “unwavering commitment to continue close cooperation with and support to the Government of Iraq” and asserted that “attacks against Coalition forces and Iraqi partners, such as those that occurred in Erbil, Baghdad and al-Asad, are unacceptable and compromise our collective efforts at the expense of the people of Iraq”. The statement went on to say that “the Coalition stands with the Syrian people in support of a lasting political settlement in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Coalition must continue to be vigilant against the threat of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations… to avoid security vacuums that Daesh/ISIS may exploit”.

Marking the second anniversary of ISIS’s territorial defeat, the U.S. State Department asserted that “our mission is far from complete. The Global Coalition remains united in its determination to see this enemy destroyed and will continue its efforts against the group in Iraq, Syria, and other countries”.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei opined that “the Americans are mistaken about regional matters… Their cruel, unreasonable support of the Zionist regime [ie, Israel] is a mistake. Their occupying presence in Syria in extensive areas east of the Euphrates is definitely wrong”.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the Syrian war, the U.S., jointly with the E3 and Italy, issued a statement urging “the regime and its supporters [to] engage seriously in the political process” and reaffirming “the pursuit of a peaceful solution which protects the rights and future of all Syrians, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254”. Relatedly, Iran UN envoy urged “the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces present in Syria without the permission of its Government, particularly U.S. forces”, adding: “We condemn the continued Israeli military attacks in Syria. They are unlawful, provocative, and destabilising. That regime must be compelled to put an end to such military adventurism”.

Iran’s UN envoy wrote to the UN Secretary-General maintaining that “Iran has not been directly or indirectly involved in any armed attack against any U.S. individual or body in Iraq... we deny any claim about our implicit or explicit involvement in attacks against American forces in Iraq”. He also deplored “the U.S.’s unlawful attack on 25 February against Iraqi forces along the Syrian border”, warning: “Such attacks only exacerbate the already tense situation of the region, and in effect only serve the interests of terrorist groups in these countries”.

A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson reiterated that “we’ll use a variety of tools at our disposal to push for a sustainable end to the Syrian people’s suffering. We’ll continue to support the UN’s role in negotiating a political settlement in line with the relevant UN resolutions, including UNSCR 2254”. “If there is to be a sustainable end to this conflict, we recognise that the Syrian Government must change its behaviour”, the spokesperson asserted, adding: “Bashar al-Assad has not done anything that would restore his legitimacy… There is no question of the U.S. normalising relations with his government anytime soon. There is no question that we will stand, that we will seek to support the humanitarian plight of the Syrian people as we seek a political settlement”.

Commenting on 25 February U.S. airstrikes against “infrastructure used by Iranian-backed militant groups” in eastern Syria, a U.S. military spokesperson reported that the operation had killed “one fighter and wounded two others, in addition to destroying nine buildings”. He emphasised that “this was really designed to do two things: to remove that compound from their utilisation of it as an entry control point from Syria into Iraq, and two, to send a very strong signal that we are not going to tolerate attacks on our people and on our Iraqi partners”. 

The Pentagon confirmed that “at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces… conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilised by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria. These strikes were authorised in response to recent attacks against American and Coalition personnel in Iraq, and to ongoing threats to those personnel”. “This proportionate military response”, the statement added, “was conducted together with diplomatic measures, including consultation with Coalition partners”, while noting: “We have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq”. The Syrian government denounced the action as “a coward[ly] aggression”, while Iran’s foreign ministry referred to it as “illegal aggression” by the U.S.

Foreign minister Javad Zarif conferred with his Syrian counterpart on bilateral relations and the Syrian peace process.

Iran, Russia and Turkey convened a meeting of the “Astana Process” talks over Syria, jointly reaffirming “determination to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations and stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as threatening the national security of neighbouring countries”. The three countries also “condemned continuing Israeli military attacks in Syria” and “reaffirmed their commitment to advance viable and lasting Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254”. Relatedly, a senior Iranian diplomat met with the UN special envoy for Syria.

A senior Iranian diplomat asserted that Iran’s “presence in Syria is aimed at combating Daesh [ie, ISIS] and other terrorist groups, but if Israel wants to cross the ‘red lines’, it will face the toughest response, which will make it regret its actions”. “Iran’s presence in Syria will continue as long as the country’s government and people ask for it… those who have illegally come to Syria and occupied its territories are those who should leave the country”, he contended.

A senior Iranian diplomat visited Damascus and met with President Bashar al-Assad as well as the Syrian foreign minister. The Iranian official discussed with Assad “Iran’s viewpoints and stances regarding the Astana Process and the fifth meeting of Syria’s Constitutional Committee in Geneva”.

Unconfirmed media reports indicated that suspected Israeli drone strikes targeted “a weapons shipment making its way from Iraq to Syria”.

A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson remarked that “we will renew U.S. efforts to promote a political settlement to end Syria’s civil war in close consultations with our allies, our partners and the UN. A political settlement must address the underlying causes that led to nearly a decade of civil war”. He further stated that “we will use the tools at our disposal, including economic pressure, to push for meaningful reform and accountability, and we’ll continue to support the UN’s role in negotiating a political settlement in line with UNSCR 2254. We will also restore U.S. leadership in providing humanitarian aid”.

Unconfirmed media reports indicated that suspected Israeli strikes had “targeted sites belonging to pro-Iranian militias” in north-eastern Syria.

Syrian state media reported Israeli airstrikes in eastern Syria. Unconfirmed estimates from monitoring groups suggested that “at least 57 fighters were killed and dozens wounded” in the operation, which an unnamed U.S. official said had been “carried out with intelligence provided by the U.S.” An Israeli minister, without confirming Israeli involvement in the incident, underscored that “the Iranians want permission from Assad to act freely in Syria, to transform it into the model of Hizbollah… this is all to deter us from acting against its nuclear program”. The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and urged the UN “Security Council… [to] take immediate and decisive measures to prevent the repetition of those Israeli terrorist aggressions”. The IRGC subsequently denied any casualties among Iranian and Afghan forces in the strike, claiming that Israelis “do not dare to attack the Iranian and resistance groups’ centers and positions in Syria”.

The GCC Supreme Council denounced “the Iranian existence in the Syrian territories and Iran’s interference in the Syrian affairs, demanding to expel all Iranian forces, Hizbollah militias and all sectarian militias that Iran recruited to work in Syria”.

An Israeli military spokesperson was cited as asserting that “Israel has no intention of stopping its efforts of preventing Iran from taking hold of areas in Syria and Lebanon”, adding that “the extended array of anti-aircraft systems deployed in Syria is no obstacle for the IDF”. He further noted that “Israel knows about the current efforts being undertaken by Hizbollah and will know how to neutralise any weapon or technology of the terrorist group – by military means or otherwise”.

The U.S. Treasury Department designated “two individuals, nine business entities and the Central Bank of Syria… pursuant to Syria sanctions authorities”. In parallel, the State Department sanctioned six Syrians, including President Bashar al-Assad’s wife and the commander of Syria’s military intelligence.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, asked “why do you send Afghans to the Syrian war”, maintained that “we do not send anyone to Syria… nobody goes to war on behalf of a foreign country to a third country. Our brothers would go to [Syria] voluntarily”. Zarif further noted that the majority of Afghan soldiers “have rejoined normal life… as now the war is over in Syria”, estimating fewer than 2,000 remained in Syria. “As they went to Syria to join the anti-Daesh forces”, he added, “we, without any hesitation, supported all resistance forces against terrorism and extremism”, confirming: “We support the families of those who get martyred”.

Iran’s UN envoy told the Security Council that “Iran is fully committed to contributing to a political solution of the Syrian crisis” and asserted: “Sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria must be fully respected by all, separatist agendas and illegitimate self-rule initiatives must be rejected and all foreign forces whose presence is not permitted by the Syrian Government, particularly the U.S. forces who are following a hidden agenda, must leave Syria”. He further denounced “Israel’s continued aggression against Syria”, adding that “such provocative military adventurism must stop”.

Israel’s military chief of staff reported that “the Iranian entrenchment in Syria is in a clear slowdown as a result of IDF activity, but we still have a long way to go to complete our goals in this arena”. He also indicated that Israel had “struck over 500 targets this year, on all fronts, in addition to multiple clandestine missions”, further noting “many offensive [cyber] operations”.

The U.S. designated Hassan Irloo, whom it described as “an official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and the Iranian regime’s envoy to the Huthi rebels in Yemen” on counterterrorism authorities. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that “by dispatching Irloo to Yemen, the IRGC-QF is signaling its intent to increase support to the Huthis and further complicate international efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the conflict”. The U.S. also sanctioned “Al-Mustafa International University for facilitating IRGC-QF recruitment efforts and one individual”. According to the Treasury Department, the university “is used as a recruitment platform by the IRGC-QF for intelligence collection and operations, including recruitment for the IRGC-QF-led foreign militias fighting on behalf of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria”. The following day, Iran blacklisted the U.S. ambassador to Yemen for having “a leading role in organising, financing and arming, directing and carrying out actions of aggressor coalition and formation of human tragedy in Yemen”.

Syrian Foreign Minister Feisal Meqdad visited Tehran and met with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other senior officials. Discussing the trip, Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson maintained that “political solutions are the only possible option to end the current crisis” in Syria and affirmed that “Iran stands beside the Syrian people and the government in the fight against terrorism”.The following day, President Rouhani called Syrian a “strategic ally” and asserted that Israel “must be confronted until the liberation of the occupied territories, including Golan Heights”. Iran’s Defence Minister, Amir Hatami, also voiced “the determination of Iran to continue cooperation with Syria in the reconstruction phase of this country”.

Media reports citing Iraqi officials indicated that “an air strike killed a commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards at the Iraq-Syria border” along with three individuals accompanying him; the vehicle was said to have been “carrying weapons across the Iraqi border”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson subsequently indicated that the news “seems more of a media propaganda”.

Secretary Pompeo announced that “the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury sanctioned nineteen individuals and entities under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 and other sanctions authorities”. “The Assad regime has a choice: take irreversible steps toward a peaceful resolution of this decade-long conflict or face further crippling sanctions”, Pompeo asserted.

The U.S. ambassador to the UN told the Security Council that “the Assad regime continues to give Iran and its military proxies safe harbour to extend their terror campaign and project its military power deeper into the Middle East, threatening the lives of the Syrian people, but also the security of Israel”. She further asserted that “Iranian forces must withdraw from Syria for there to be lasting peace. Only the UN-facilitated political solution outlined in Resolution 2254 will pave the way for Syria at peace with its people and the region”.

President Bashar al-Assad maintained that “we can only have normal relations with Israel when we have our land back. It’s very simple. So, it is possible when Israel is ready and Israel is not ready. It has never been ready”. He also asserted that “we don’t have Iranian troops [in Syria]… They support Syria, they send their military experts, they work with our troops on the ground, the exist with the Syrian army”. “The Iranian issue is a pretext for occupying Syrian land and supporting terrorists”, Assad insisted.

The U.S. unveiled “seventeen Syria sanctions designations as part of the Administration’s continuing campaign to achieve the goals of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 and hold Assad and his enablers accountable for their crimes”.

The U.S. military announced that it had “deployed Sentinel radar, increased the frequency of U.S. fighter patrols over U.S. forces, and deployed Bradley Fighting Vehicles to augment U.S. forces in the Eastern Syria Security Area (ESSA). These actions are a clear demonstration of U.S. resolve to defend Coalition forces in the ESSA, and to ensure that they are able to continue their Defeat-ISIS mission without interference”. “The U.S. does not seek conflict with any other nation in Syria, but will defend Coalition forces if necessary”, the statement highlighted.

Media reports indicated that a suspected Israeli strike hit “ammunition depots and vehicles of the Iranian-backed militias” in Deir al-Zour province, killing ten.

CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie confirmed that “we’re in two positions in Syria… In the Eastern Syria Security Area, we got more than 500 people that are working that area. And we’ve got a couple hundred down in the al-Tanf Garrison”. He further underscored that “we’re not doing any fighting in there. We are in there to support our SDF partners and the military objective we’re in there is to finish the final defeat of ISIS up and down the Euphrates River Valley… At the same time, we’re there to assist the SDF and holding the oil fields that are there as well to prevent ISIS from recapturing those oil fields and allow the SDF ultimately perhaps to recoup some of the benefits of those oil fields”.

The White House confirmed that the previous day, “a routine Defeat-ISIS Coalition security patrol encountered a Russian patrol… in north east Syria. During this interaction, a Russian vehicle struck a coalition Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV), causing injuries to the vehicle’s crew”. The U.S. statement indicated that “to de-escalate the situation, the coalition patrol department the area”, noting that such incidents “represent a breach of de-confliction protocols committed to by the U.S. and Russia in December 2019”.

On the sidelines of a Syrian Constitutional Committee meeting in Geneva, Iran, Russia and Turkey “reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic”. They further voiced “their opposition to the illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues that should belong to the Syrian Arab Republic”, and “condemned the continuing Israel’s [sic] military attacks in Syria”.

Syrian state media reported that multiple rockets fell near the U.S. Conoco base in Deir al-Zour province.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition confirmed a that coalition patrol in north east Syria had come “under small arms fire from individuals” near a pro-Syrian government checkpoint. According to the statement, “coalition troops returned fire in self-defence”, taking no casualties. Syrian state media reported, and the coalition denied, that following the exchange, “two U.S. warplanes attacked the army personnel at the checkpoint with heavy machine guns” leaving one dead and two injured soldiers.

The U.S. Special Representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, reiterated that “our goals [in Syria] remain as they have been for years: the enduring defeat of ISIS and al-Qaeda, an irreversible political solution to the Syrian conflict in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the removal of all Iranian-commanded forces. We are maintaining our maximum political and economic pressure for these goals… Our policy isn’t regime change; our policy is a change in behavior of whoever is governing in Damascus”. He further commented on a deal between Delta Crescent Energy, a U.S. company, and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and maintained that “we are not involved in the commercial decisions of our local partners… The U.S. government doesn’t own, control or manage oil resources in Syria”.

Media reports indicated that airstrikes in Syria’s Deir el-Zour province “destroyed positions, bases and weapons warehouses” and purportedly killed “fifteen Iranian-backed militiamen of Iraqi nationalities”.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed the U.S. administration’s support for a deal between  Delta Crescent Energy, a U.S. company, and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to “modernise the oil fields in northeastern Syria”. “The deal took a little longer... than we had hoped, and now we’re in implementation”, he added. The Syrian government on 2 August condemned the agreement “in the strongest terms” and described it as “steal[ing] Syria’s oil under the sponsorship and support of the American administration”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson also decried the deal.

The U.S. designated fourteen Syrian individuals and entities pursuant to the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (Caesar Act). The same day, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, commenting on Iran’s “military cooperation agreement” with Damascus, asserted that “such military aid to the Assad regime, violates the Caesar Act… The Iranian regime’s pledge to export military equipment to Syria is in blatant defiance of the UN arms embargo under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and it’s a further demonstration of why we in the U.S. think it’s an imperative that the Security Council must act to extend the arms embargo on Iran” beyond October. He further maintained that “the Iraqi militant groups that are sponsored by the Iranian regime, have been dealing with the Syrian regime in a way that would clearly violate… the spirit of the Caesar Act as well as UN Security Council resolutions”.

Iran’s military chief of staff, Mohammad Baqeri, met with the Syrian Minister of Defence in Damascus and inked “a comprehensive military cooperation agreement”. Baqeri reportedly expressed Tehran’s commitment to “strengthen Syria’s air defence systems in line with the reinvigoration of military cooperation between the two countries”, and said the deal “will increase our determination for joint cooperation to confront the U.S. pressures”. The following day, Baqeri met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who remarked that “this agreement reflects the strategic level of relations between Iran and Syria”. A U.S. military spokesperson subsequently asserted that “the mission of U.S. forces in Syria today remains the same as it was when they first began operations in 2014… U.S. service members will continue to execute the Defeat ISIS mission in Syria, working in conjunction with vetted local forces in northeast Syria and around Al-Tanf Garrison”.

Media report indicated that “unidentified aircraft bombed Iran-backed forces” in al-Bukamal near the Syria-Iraq border. An additional set of airstrikes in eastern Syria was reported the following day.

Prime Minister Netanyahu opined that “three main challenges are before us, and we are taking action without respite against them: First, we are taking constant action against the efforts of Iran and its proxies to entrench militarily in Syria. The Iranian military must leave Syria. Second, we are taking action against the efforts of our enemies to develop precision missiles in Syria, Lebanon and other areas. Third, and most importantly, we will not allow Iran to attain nuclear weapons”. “Iran is continuing to lie to the international community in its effort to achieve a bomb”, Netanyahu argued. “I have been claiming this for years and today the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, understands this”. He further affirmed that “we regard with utmost seriousness the threats of destruction against Israel by Iranian and pro-Iranian elements… Whoever tries to attack us places himself in very great danger”.

Syrian state media reported that “hostile air targets coming from east and northeast of Palmyra launched a number of missiles on some military sites” in eastern and southern Syria, causing two fatalities and four injuries. Hours later there were further reports that “the Israeli enemy launched a new aggression through which it targeted a number of the Syrian military sites” near Hama.

CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie indicated that “what we're committed to doing in Syria is working with our SDF partners to continue to pursue the remnants of ISIS that exist up and down the Euphrates River Valley, so at the same time, set the conditions for long term stability east of the Euphrates River”. He also noted: “I've been given no direction to pull back right now, and I don't know when that would occur, under what conditions that would occur”.

The sanctions provisions of U.S. “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019” (the Caesar Act) went into effect. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that “the Treasury Department and State Department are releasing 39 designations under the Caesar Act and Executive Order 13894 as the beginning of what will be a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to deny the Assad regime revenue and support it uses to wage war and commit mass atrocities against the Syrian people”. Pompeo further asserted that “we anticipate many more sanctions and we will not stop until Assad and his regime stop their needless, brutal war against the Syrian people and the Syrian government agrees to a political solution to the conflict as called for by UNSCR 2254”. 

Media reports suggested that multiple airstrikes had targeted “pro-Iranian militia in the Deir el-Zour region in eastern Syria”.

The U.S. Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, James Jeffrey, reported that “we are concerned about Daesh [ISIS] elements south of the Euphrates in those areas that the [Syrian] regime and its Iranian and Russian supporters control. There has been a significant increase in attacks, and we’re watching that closely because Daesh sees the entire Iraq/Syria area as one single front”. Jeffrey went on to assert that “there’s been no change in the American position that we’re going to continue to maintain forces as long as the Iraqi government is willing to have U.S. and coalition forces present in the country until the enduring defeat of Daesh is accomplished, and it’s not yet accomplished”. He also noted that in Iraq “NATO has taken the decision to expand its current level and current kind of activities which are higher-level headquarters coordination, coaching, training, that sort of thing”.

The foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Small Group issued a communique reiterating their “shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh/ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and to create conditions for an enduring defeat of the terrorist group, which remains the Coalition’s sole purpose”. The ministers also “welcome[d] the establishment of a new government in Baghdad, and look[ed] forward to engaging in a fruitful dialogue with the government of Iraq on our joint endeavor to maintain pressure on Daesh/ISIS”. “In Syria, the Coalition stands with the Syrian people in support of a lasting political settlement in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254”, the statement added. Speaking at the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi by saying that “we are all committed to your success in support of the enduring defeat of ISIS”, also noting that “we’re sharing the financial burden of Iraq’s immediate recovery”.  

Media reports suggested that there had been an air strike against “three military vehicles belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary fighters near the Iraqi border”. There were separate reports of strikes targeting “Iran-backed militias in northern Syria”.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told the cabinet that “the security challenges have not stopped for a moment, neither have the threats. You certainly heard the ruler of Iran, Khamenei, threatening our destruction. Whoever threatens us with destruction will certainly not succeed, but places himself in great danger”. “Our policy is to oppose Iranian aggression in every place and to oppose Iran’s attempts to entrench in Syria”, Netanyahu added. “We are active constantly and… oppose Iran’s attempt to place or develop in Syria weapons to serve its proxies and forces that could endanger the State of Israel”. In related remarks, Defence Minister Benny Gantz indicated that “we are still keeping a close watch on the military fronts in Lebanon and Syria. The security problems that could happen in the north have not passed… We have to stretch our hand out to peace on every front – and have the military strength that can ensure we will reach peace and preserve it”.

The U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, indicated that “we have seen some tactical displacement of Iranian troops. We see both Russia and Syria recognising the incentives for Iranian troops and forces under Iranian command and control to leave Syria… That has been a condition of American and the international community providing reconstruction assistance”. Hook added that Iran “is an obstacle… to moving along toward a post-conflict political process. So we think that there are increasing incentives for Iran to leave Syria”. Relatedly, the Israeli military reported “a backward movement [of Iranian/Iranian-backed forces] from various locations to other locations that are further away and in reduced numbers”, assessing the shift to be “not massive, not underwhelming” yet “undeniable”.

Israel’s top military official asserted that “we will continue to use various military tools and specialised fighting techniques to harm the enemy”, adding that “dozens of attacks that were carried out, including recently, have already proven the superiority of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) intelligence and firepower”. “When the Israeli home front is threatened by thousands of missiles and rockets, we will not hesitate to attack forcefully in order to thwart those threats”, he added.

Outgoing Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett confirmed that “we have intensified the scope of the attacks against Iranian forces in Syria. We’ve made it clear by our actions that there’s no place protected from us. There’s no safe place for those who try to attack the State of Israel”. He further argued that “Iran has in fact started a process of withdrawing from Syria, but we’ve got to finish the job… We have to increase the diplomatic, economic, military and technological pressure, as well as operate in other realms”. The same day, Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson asserted that “we are in Syria to help them fight terrorism… our attendance in Syria does not concern the U.S. and the Zionist regime [ie, Israel] at all”.

Syrian state media reported an explosion in Aleppo. Later in the day, airstrikes were reported near the Iraq-Syria border.

The U.S. convened the UN “Security Council to meet under its 2231 Format to discuss Iran’s April 22 satellite launch”, which it called “yet another example of Iran’s relentless defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231”. According to the U.S. mission, its representatives “highlighted Iran’s ongoing violation of the UN arms embargo in Resolution 2231, reminding Council members that Iran continues to funnel weapons to proxy forces and terrorist groups in places like Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Bahrain”. The U.S. also argued that “Iran’s continued violations of the Security Council’s arms embargo demands greater pressure from the Security Council, not less, and the U.S. will work tirelessly with a coalition of concerned nations to ensure the embargo is extended”.

A senior U.S. diplomat indicated that “Iran has been persistent in its efforts to establish this beachhead basically on Israel’s border and to bring in advanced weaponry and assets targeting Israel and moving equipment… through Syria to Hizbollah with this sort of land bridge. We see repeatedly, oftentimes with no claims of responsibility, that these assets are being hit with great regularity, just pounded, and it would make sense at a certain point that Iran would want to cut its losses and downsize its presence there just because it’s increasingly costly to them in terms of life and property”. The official added that the Iranians “would be well advised to start using some of this investment in this military infrastructure in Syria and with Hizbollah to start spending some of that money on their own people who are suffering terribly from COVID”.

The U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement, James Jeffrey, confirmed that “we see some Iranian movement around Syria pulling back from areas where the Israelis have struck them. We’ve also seen a withdrawal of Iranian-backed militias – some Hizbollah, some from other countries. But this may be chalked up to a relative lull in the fighting”. He further noted that “what we have not seen… is any strategic Iranian commitment not to try to use Syria both as a second launching pad for long-range weapons against Israel and as a conduit – the famous Shiite Crescent – on to provide Hizbollah more lethal and more modern precision-guided missiles, again, to threaten Israel. That would be the big change”. Jeffrey added that “our policy right now is to restore the situation in 2011 before the conflict began, and that would eventually lead to all of the other military forces that have entered leaving. Ones were most interested in, of course, are the Iranians and the Iranian-commanded militias”.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated that “we have been very clear to the Assad regime all along, and to the Russians in Syria: the Iranians need to leave. They need to leave not only the south west corner that has a direct and real impact on Israel and risks to the Golan, but more broadly throughout the country”. He further argued that “the very terror regime that we talk about in the Islamic Republic of Iran has got a campaign that supports what Assad has done that has brutalised and destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands, caused six or seven million people to have to flee Syria. The Iranian regime is responsible for that in the same way that the Syrian regime is”.

Amidst a series of suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria, Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett asserted that “we are determined, more determined [than Iran], and I can tell you why — for Iran, Syria is an adventure happening 1,000km away from home. For us, it’s our lives”. He further warned that “Iranian soldiers who come to Syria and operate there… are putting their lives at risk, they are paying that price and will continue to do so. We will not give up and we will not allow the establishment of an Iranian forward operating base in Syria”. In related comments, an unnamed Israeli defence official assessed that “Syria is paying a growing price for the Iranian presence in its territory, for a war that isn’t [Syria’s]. Iran has turned from an asset to Syria into a burden”.

Syrian state media reported that the “air defences confronted… a missile aggression” near Aleppo that “targeted some military depots”. There was also reports of a separate strike in Deir al-Zour province.

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met with President Bashar al-Assad and other senior Syrian officials during a visit to Damascus. Zarif told Assad that “the U.S.’s true intentions have come to light with regards to its refusal to lift unfair sanctions against nations during tough times of fighting” COVID-19, and the two sides discussed bilateral and regional matters including the Astana Peace Process. The U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement, James Jeffrey, reacted to Zarif’s trip by asserting: “if Iran were truly concerned about the health and safety of the Syrian people, it would support the UN-led political process under UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and withdraw IRGC, Hizbollah and other terrorist forces under its command from the entirety of Syria… Iran's only contributions to Syria have been violence and instability”. He went on to stress that “we continue to offer humanitarian assistance to help address the coronavirus outbreak, while the Assad regime, Russia and Iran obstruct aid and starve the Syrian people of food and medicine”.

The Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Small Group “agreed to maintain maximum pressure on Daesh/ISIS despite the several and multifaceted challenges, including those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to achieve the enduring defeat of the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria”. They also “agreed that Operation Inherent Resolve’s training role, temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, will resume as conditions permit”. “The Political Directors of the Global Coalition, while maintaining the importance of guaranteeing the sovereignty of Iraq, also stressed the importance of increasing our various forms of assistance and stabilisation support to liberated areas”, the statement added.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that “Hizbollah has fewer dollars today to engage in nefarious activity than they did when President Trump took office, and they will continue to have fewer dollars tomorrow until they fundamentally get the Iranian regime to change its model”. He further asserted that Iran used its resources “to take weaponry into Iraq, to underwrite Hizbollah and Lebanon and threaten Israel, all of the things that the Iranians have engaged in for so long, even in this [COVID-19] crisis the Iranian regime hasn’t ceased doing, that’s most unfortunate”. Pompeo added: “we hope that the people of Iran one day will get a regime with a change in outlook, a change which says, ‘no, we want to respect what the Iranian people truly want’”.

In a statement marking the anniversary of ISIS’s territorial defeat, the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition indicated that “we have reached a point in the campaign where our partners are taking the fight to the remnants of Daesh independently and preventing Daesh’s resurgence. As a result, the Coalition will consolidate to fewer bases with fewer people and remains committed to supporting our partners ensuring the enduring defeat of Daesh”. The Global Coalition also issued a statement for the occasion, noting that “ISIS remains a significant threat. The Global Coalition will continue its comprehensive efforts in Iraq and Syria, and globally, to deny ISIS’s ambitions and the activities of its branches and networks, until the job is done”.

The U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition announced that it had “conducted a base transfer ceremony with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) at al-Qaim”, located close to Iraq’s border with Syria. “The Coalition will operate from fewer locations but remains committed to supporting our partners in their fight against Daesh [ie, ISIS]”, the statement added.

The U.S. designated Syrian “Minister of Defense Lieutenant General Ali Abdullah Ayoub for his deliberate actions since December 2019 to prevent a ceasefire from taking hold in northern Syria”. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remarked that “we stand on the side of the Syrian people. While the Assad regime and its Iranian and Russian enablers continue their illusory quest for a military solution in Syria, we are committed to a peaceful political solution in line with UNSCR 2254”. “We call on all parties to cease their destabilising activities, agree to a nationwide ceasefire and constructively participate in the political process”, Pompeo added. “If they do not, the alternative is clear: they will face increasing economic pressure and diplomatic isolation”.

Syrian state media reported that “unidentified aircrafts have attacked Deir al-Zour north-eastern countryside in vicinity of the Syrian-Iraqi borders… causing only material damage”.

A senior U.S. diplomat assessed that “one of the major risks to the region of this terrible crisis [in Idlib] is the involvement of Iranian forces – not only to prop up the war criminal Assad regime, but also to deploy long-range missile and other weapon systems to threaten our partners and allies such as Turkey, such as Israel, such as Jordan, and to threaten our own U.S. military positions in the Middle East as we saw recently in Iraq. So we have noticed that these forces have become very directly involved in the fighting in Idlib”. He further asserted that “this is another indication that Iran is driving on its own axis in Syria… trying to expand its own hegemonic agenda throughout the northern Levant, and this is something the U.S. is absolutely opposed to”.

Testifying before the House Armed Service Committee, CENTCOM commander Kenneth McKenzie affirmed that “most of the U.S. intelligence community predicts that without sustained pressure levied against it, ISIS has the potential to reconstitute in Iraq and Syria in short order, beyond the current capabilities of the U.S. to neutralise it without a capable, partnered ground force”. On Syria, he recommended that “moving forward, we must continue our support to NATO ally Turkey and our D-ISIS partner force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), while maintaining deconfliction with Russia, which, along with the Assad regime, aggressively challenges the Coalition mission in various ways”. McKenzie further reiterated that “we remain in Iraq at the request of the Government of Iraq for one reason: the defeat of ISIS”, adding that “hindering our ability to work with the Iraqi Security Forces toward this objective [of defeating ISIS] are rogue elements of the Popular Mobilisation Forces more beholden to Iran’s regime than the government of Iraq. Some of these militias smuggle advanced weapons into Iraq from Iran, not to defend the country from ISIS, but to undermine existing security and threaten U.S. and Coalition forces”. McKenzie also indicated that “we are in the process of bringing air defence systems, ballistic missile defence systems into Iraq – particularly to protect ourselves against another potential Iranian attack”.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo underlined that “hundreds of thousands of Syrians of all faiths, but predominantly Muslim, are being harmed by what the Assad regime, the Russians and the Iranians are doing inside of Idlib. And the Turkish Government has asked us for a handful of things. We’re evaluating all of those requests”. “We believe firmly that our NATO partner Turkey has the full right to defend itself against the risk that’s being created by what Assad, the Russians and the Iranians are doing inside of Syria”, Pompeo added.

The U.S. “announced $108 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Syria in response to the ongoing crisis caused by Assad regime, Russian, and Iranian forces”. “We join the UN in calling for an immediate ceasefire and halt to the brutal violence in northwest Syria by Assad regime, Russian and Iranian forces”, said the State Department, while expressing U.S. “commitment to a credible and inclusive UN-facilitated political solution pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 2254”.

In a statement, Iran's Military Advisory Centre in Syria asserted that the Turkish “military started airstrikes and bombardment of our positions… mediators told the Turkish military that, under its support, terrorists have attacked our bases and that we confronted them standing beside the Syria military. But the Turks did not pay any attention to our remarks and continued their airstrikes. Some of our forces have been martyred”. The centre called on Turkey to “to act reasonably in Idlib and consider the benefits of the Syrian nation”, adding: “we, hereby, inform the Turkish nation that their children have been within our gunshot in the past recent month. We could take our revenge but our commanders have prevented such a measure”. The same day, Iran and Lebanon held funerals for multiple soldiers killed in Idlib.

Israeli Minister of Defence Naftali Bennett indicated that “we are seeing the initial indications of Iran weakening and considering a new tack in Syria”. He added that “[Iranians] are sending forces in order to establish a presence there to exhaust us, but we are turning this disadvantage into an advantage. We have intelligence and operational superiority, and we are telling the Iranians clearly: Get out of Syria… we are moving from a defensive position to an offensive position – to weaken, to exhaust, to tire and wear out the head of the octopus [ie, Iran] in order to weaken its arms”.

Responding to statements by senior Israeli officials about countering Iran in Syria, Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson asserted that “Iran will not compromise and hesitate for a moment to defend its presence in Syria and also defend its national security and regional interests. Consequently, Iran will give a decisive and crushing response to any aggression or stupid act by the Zionist regime [ie, Israel]”.

Responding to statements by senior Israeli officials about countering Iran in Syria, Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson asserted that “Iran will not compromise and hesitate for a moment to defend its presence in Syria and also defend its national security and regional interests. Consequently, Iran will give a decisive and crushing response to any aggression or stupid act by the Zionist regime [ie, Israel]”.

A spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) reported that “coalition forces, conducting a patrol near Qamishili, Syria, encountered a checkpoint occupied by pro-Syrian regime forces. After coalition troops issued a series of warnings and de-escalation attempts, the patrol came under small arms fire from unknown individuals. In self-defence, coalition troops returned fire”. “The situation was de-escalated and is under investigation”, the spokesperson indicated, adding that “one U.S. soldier had a minor superficial scratch” during the exchange. According to Syrian state media, one civilian was killed and another injured during the clash.

Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett assessed that “for years on end, we have fought against the Iranian tentacles in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip, but we have not focused enough on weakening Iran itself. Now we are changing the paradigm, we are now engaged in a continued effort to weaken the Iranian octopus through economic, diplomatic and intelligence measures, as well as with military means and various other approaches”. Bennett further addressed Iran and stated: “you have no business being in Syria, and so long as you continue to build terrorist bases there, we will continue to hurt you even further”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, describing a “political solution as the only way out of the crisis” and underscoring “Tehran's full preparedness for any cooperation within the framework of respecting the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria”.

Israel Defence Minister Naftali Bennett stated that “we are in a process of switching to hurting the head of the octopus – Iran’s power”. “I am not necessarily talking about a full-blown war with Iran tomorrow; it is more similar to the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the U.S., with the two regional powers Israel and Iran”. Bennett also posited that “we have intelligence superiority and aerial superiority” in Syria, and warned that “it is a bad place for Iran to be. Anything they bring there we will immediately strike... we will do more and more so that Syria becomes their Vietnam”. Bennett also indicated that in consultations with his U.S. counterpart “we sorted out the coordination exactly – they’re taking Iraq, and we’re taking Syria”. “We have significantly intensified, including this week, with very strong attacks against Iran, against the Iranian presence, against Iranian bases, against Iranian surface-to-air missiles, against Iranian fighters… in Syria”, he added. “It’s like a contiguous puzzle – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon. Imagine a water pipe, only the water is rockets and terrorism. If you take out a piece of the pipe, then you’ve broken up the contiguity and it dries up”.

The U.S. Special Representative for Syria, James Jeffery, indicated that “we are continuing to work with the Iraqis”, adding that “the NATO Mission Iraq has indicated a willingness to take on a somewhat larger role”. He also reported that “we have not seen a significant increase in ISIS activities either in northeast Syria or in Iraq. They’ve been at a level that has been of concern… There may have been a slight increase in the number of attacks, but because the attack levels are fairly low by our historic standards with ISIS and other insurgency and terrorist groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, a few incidents here and there can make a difference”. 

In statement, the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Small Group underscored that “the Coalition will continue to further develop its support to and close partnership with the Iraqi government, the Iraqi Security Forces and our partners in the region in their ongoing efforts to diminish Daesh/ISIS’s capabilities and ensure it cannot reemerge”. Expressing “full respect of Iraqi sovereignty”, the coalition stated: “we will continue the close dialogue with the Iraqi government on appropriate measures to adapt the operational efficiency and coordination of our collective efforts”. “In Syria”, the statement added, “the Coalition stands with the Syrian people in support of a lasting political settlement based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254”.

In statement, the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Small Group underscored that “the Coalition will continue to further develop its support to and close partnership with the Iraqi government, the Iraqi Security Forces and our partners in the region in their ongoing efforts to diminish Daesh/ISIS’s capabilities and ensure it cannot reemerge”. Expressing “full respect of Iraqi sovereignty”, the coalition stated: “we will continue the close dialogue with the Iraqi government on appropriate measures to adapt the operational efficiency and coordination of our collective efforts”. “In Syria”, the statement added, “the Coalition stands with the Syrian people in support of a lasting political settlement based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254”.

The commander of U.S. Central Command, General Frank Mckenzie, visited eastern Syria.

A senior U.S. military official emphasised that “we do continue our partner D-ISIS operations with the Syrian Democratic Forces, as well as our efforts to secure critical infrastructure in Deir el-Zour and Hasakah areas to prevent that critical infrastructure from falling back into the hands of ISIS, where it was a significant ability for them to extract resources that they could use for their purposes”.

Syrian state media alleged that “Israeli warplanes perpetrated a new aggression on T4 airport from the direction of al-Tanf region… The army air defenses immediately intercepted the hostile missiles and shot down a number of them, meanwhile, four missiles reached the targeted area and the damages were limited to materials”.

In a meeting with the Syrian prime minister, Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani emphasised that “as long as terrorist forces of the U.S. stay in the west Asia region, this region will experience no stability, peace or sustainable security… expulsion of the wicked U.S. is possible through unity of regional nations and governments”.

The head of the IRGC's Qods force, Qasem Soleimani, was killed in a U.S. strike in Baghdad. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that "at the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani”, adding that "Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region". Iran confirmed Soleimani’s death, and the IRGC said that four other Qods force members along with five Iraqis, notably including a senior Hashd official, were also killed in the operation. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei subsequently asserted that "enemies should bear in mind that the Islamic Republic of Iran will take tough revenge on criminals over the martyrdom of General Soleimani".

In a statement following 29 December U.S. strikes against Kataeb Hizbollah bases in Iraq and Syria, the IRGC said the operation “was a violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty” and contended that “the Iraqi people and PMU [Popular Mobilisation Units] have the right to retaliate and respond to the recent great U.S. crime”. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson commented that “the U.S. has demonstrated its decisive support for terrorism and disregard for the independence and sovereignty of nations by launching these attacks”, adding that “it must accept the responsibility for the consequences of such illegal measure”.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi responded to U.S. strikes against Kataeb Hizbollah bases in Iraq and Syria by calling the operation “an unacceptable vicious assault that will have dangerous consequences”. Iraqi President Barham Saleh described the 29 December action, which followed a 27 December rocket attack against a military facility near Kirkuk, as “unacceptable and considered as an aggressive action and violation of Iraqi sovereignty”. The Iraqi Security Council underlined that the attack "violates the goals and principles for which the international coalition is formed… [and] pushes Iraq to review the relationship and security and political and legal work contexts in a manner that preserves the sovereignty and security of the country, protecting the lives of its children and promoting common interests”.

Referring to 29 December U.S. strikes against five Kataeb Hizbollah bases in Iraq and Syria, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintained that “this was a defensive action designed to protect American forces and American citizens in Iraq, and it was aimed also at deterring Iran. This was an Iranian-backed rogue militia acting to deny the Iraqi people their basic sovereignty. It’s Qasem Soleimani, it’s the ayatollah working to expand their terror campaign all around the world. They took a strike at an American facility. President Trump’s been pretty darn patient, and he’s made clear at the same time that when Americans’ lives were at risk we would respond”. “Our mission continues to try and get the Islamic Republic of Iran to behave like a normal nation”, Pompeo added. “We just want Iran to stop their terror campaign. We want them to agree that they won’t have nuclear weapons, that they won’t enrich uranium, a set of basic things”.

A senior U.S. official indicated that “it’s been longstanding U.S. policy. That all Iranian-commanded forces – which would include, in our view, Kataeb Hizbollah – leave Syria”. The official further indicated that “we do see threat streams and threatening activities by all of these [Iran-supported] forces that are of concern to us from a force protection standpoint… we can respond not just in Iraq, but we can respond anywhere that we think it makes sense to us and to the interests and security of our partners and allies in dealing with this threat to the region”.

The U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, emphasised that 29 December U.S. strikes against Kataeb Hizbollah bases in Iraq and Syria constituted “a defensive action” against a group Hook characterised as “an Iranian-backed rogue militia”. Asserting that “we’ve already seen, just in the past two months alone, eleven attacks on bases inside Iraq that are hosting coalition forces”, Hook argued that “the last thing the U.S. is looking for is kinetic action in the Middle East… But we’ve also made clear that we will not tolerate attacks against U.S. citizens, our military or our partners and allies in the region”. He further assessed that “Iran is currently in a state of panicked aggression. The regime understands very clearly the kind of economic pressure they’re under, and they also know that it’s not sustainable. And so they are lashing out”. Another senior U.S. official noted with respect to the 29 December strikes that the targets “on the Syrian side of the border were, I think even more significant in many ways, although I’m not going to get into why”.

Following a 27 December rocket attack against an Iraqi military base near Kirkuk that hosts U.S. forces, the Pentagon confirmed that “U.S. forces have conducted precision defensive strikes against five Kataeb Hizbollah facilities in Iraq and Syria that will degrade Kataeb Hizbollah's ability to conduct future attacks against OIR (Operation Inherent Resolve) coalition forces”. Asserting that “KH has a strong linkage with Iran’s Qods force and has repeatedly received lethal aid and other support from Iran that it has used to attack OIR coalition forces”, a senior U.S. defence official underscored that “the U.S. and its coalition partners fully respect Iraqi sovereignty, and support a strong and independent Iraq. The U.S., however, will not be deterred from exercising its right of self-defence”. The statement further emphasised that “Iran and their Kataeb Hizbollah proxy forces must cease their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, and respect Iraq's sovereignty, to prevent additional defensive actions by U.S. forces”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz asserted that the Pentagon's "announcement that the U.S. attacked five Kataeb Hizbollah targets in Iraq and Syria in response to the attack on the K1 base is a turning point in the regional response to Iran and its proxies. If Iran fails to understand the power of the U.S. they will be making a big mistake". In a conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo the following day, Prime Minister Netanyahu "commended… the important U.S. action against Iran and its proxies in the region". 

Israel’s military chief of staff assessed that “there is a possibility that we will face a limited confrontation with Iran and we are preparing for it”. He went on to assert that “we will not allow Iran to entrench itself in Syria, or in Iraq… Iraq is undergoing a civil war, when the Qods force is operating there on a daily basis, when the country itself has turned into an ungoverned area. Advanced weapons are being smuggled by the Qods force in Iraq on a monthly basis and we can’t allow that”.

Media reports indicated that there were five fatalities in a strike against purported “operation sites of pro-Iranian militias” in Al-Bukamal near the Syria-Iraq border.

President Trump signed the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019” (the Caesar Act). In a statement, Secretary of State Pompeo indicated that the act “provides the U.S. tools to help end the horrific and ongoing conflict in Syria by promoting accountability for the Assad regime. It also holds accountable those responsible for the widespread death of civilians and for numerous atrocities including the use of chemical weapons and other barbaric weapons”. Pompeo added that “the law provides for sanctions and travel restrictions on those who provide support to members of the Assad regime, in addition to Syrian and international enablers who have been responsible for, or complicit in serious human rights abuses in Syria”.

Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett contended that “the ayatollahs in Iran send us their tentacles in an effort to terrorise the citizens of Israel. The more Iran tries to establish itself on Syrian soil, the deeper it will sink in the Syrian sands. Syria is increasingly becoming Iran's Vietnam”. He went on to assert that “we will increase the pressure, Iran has nothing to look for on Syrian soil. We will continue to protect the country's borders”.

Airstrikes reportedly targeted “three Iranian-controlled weapons depots” near Al-Bukamal, close to the Iraq-Syria border.

Speaking alongside U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that “we have been fortunate that President Trump has led a consistent policy of pressure against Iran. Iran is increasing its aggression as we speak even today in the region. They’re trying to have staging grounds against us and the region from Iran itself, from Iraq, from Syria, from Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen, and we are actively engaged in countering that aggression”. Netanyahu further maintained that “Iran’s aggression is growing, but its empire is tottering. And I say let’s make it totter even further”. Secretary Pompeo, citing unrest in Iraq, Lebanon and Iran, stated that “some of these are people that are seeking freedom and a reasonable way to live, and they recognise the threat that is posed by the kleptocrats that are running the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

A facility near al-Bukamal that media reports described as Iran-linked was reportedly hit by airstrikes. Prime Minister Netanyahu, asked whether he had authorised the attack, responded: “I don’t talk about that”.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei maintained that “the domineering powers have always opposed the independence of nations and insulted them. In this regard, they never hesitate to express their intentions, as the Americans explicitly say they have entered the east of the Euphrates for Syrian oil. Or they say that they have entered the military bases in Iraq without permission, completely disregarding the government and capital of the country”.

Addressing a Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Small Group Ministerial meeting, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted that “we’re watching the space once occupied by this fraudulent caliphate [ie, ISIS] like a hawk. That’s why we’re maintaining our residual presence at Tanf, in southern Syria, and our capacity to conduct air operations. We’ve repositioned some our troops in north east Syria and in the broader region as well, to make sure that ISIS will never get a second wind and to prevent ISIS from recapturing the oil fields”. “We are continuing to pursue a diplomatic resolution of the Syrian conflict with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 as the guide so that stability can, one day, return to this war-torn land”, Pompeo added. The coalition also issued a joint communique.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper stated that “our mission [in Syria] is the enduring defeat of ISIS. We're going to have about 500 to 600-ish troops there, at the end of the day. We're still moving troops out of northeastern Syria”. In related remarks, a U.S. senior official, referring to oil fields around Deir al-Zour, noted that “the oil is – has been, for the last four years, managed by our partner, the civilian side of our partner operation, the SDC [Syrian Democratic Council]… And we have every expectation they will be continuing to do that without any interference from us”. “Our role”, he added, “is one of ensuring that they’re not bothered by anybody in continuing to do what they’ve been doing for the last four years”.

Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah argued that “when we say that we need a sovereign government, we mean that it rejects the U.S. orders and follows the national interests. The Americans are to be blamed for impeding the economic process in Lebanon, and the Lebanese officials are expected to hold their responsibilities”. Nasrallah also asserted that “claims that missiles will be sent to Hizbollah via the al-Bukamal border crossings are baseless. We have an overload of missiles in Lebanon, and we don’t know where to store them”.

Syria and Russia jointly issued a statement asserting that “in southern Syria, the U.S. continues to hold the illegally occupied 55-km zone around Al-Tanf and prevent the dissolution of the Rukban refugee camp”. “We urge the entire international community to exert pressure on the U.S., which continues to violate the international law by its illegal presence in Syria, and to oblige them to withdraw completely troops from the sovereign Syrian Arab Republic”, the statement added.

A senior U.S. defence official indicated that “the military mission in Syria continues. It is the defeat of ISIS, like it has been since 2014, shoulder-to-shoulder with our SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] partners”. He further clarified that “the securing of the oil fields is a subordinate task to that mission, and – and the purpose of that task is to deny ISIS the – the revenues from that oil infrastructure”. Another defence official asserted that “everyone in the region knows where American forces are. We're very clear with anyone in the region in working to deconflict where our forces are. If anyone – we work to ensure that – that no one approaches or has – shows hostile intent to our forces, and if they do, our commanders maintain the right of self-defence”. 

A senior Israeli official revealed that “we identify with the deep distress of the Kurds, and we are assisting them through a range of channels”. She further indicated that “Israel indeed has a salient interest in preserving the strength of the Kurds and the additional minorities in the north Syria area as moderate and pro-Western elements… the possible collapse of the Kurdish hold in north Syria is a negative and dangerous scenario as far as Israel is concerned. It is absolutely clear that such an event would bring about a bolstering of negative elements in the area, headed by Iran”.

The U.S. State Department in its Country Reports on Terrorism 2018 assessed that “the [Syrian] regime continued to provide weapons and political support to Hizbollah and continued to allow Iran to rearm the terrorist organisation”. It further contended that “the Assad regime’s relationship with Hizbollah and Iran grew stronger in 2018 as the regime became more reliant on external actors to fight opponents and secure areas”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif stated that “we will be in Syria as long as the Syrian government and people want”. He went on to say that “it seems that the U.S. is staying to protect the oil and at least President Trump is honest to say what the U.S. intends to do”.

Reaffirming that “the United States will retain control of oil fields in northeast Syria”, U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper stressed that “we will respond with overwhelming military force against any group that threatens the safety of our forces there”. Responding to a question on whether this mission “include[s] denying access, preventing Russian or Syrian forces”, Secretary Esper went on to assert that “the short answer is yes, it presently does, because in that case we want to make sure that SDF does have access to the resources in order to guard the prisons, in order to arm their own troops, in order to assist us with the Defeat ISIS mission. So that's our mission, is to secure the oil fields”. Esper also reaffirmed that “we also were given the earlier directive to retain forces at the Al-Tanf garrison”.

President Trump announced the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a U.S.-led raid in north-western Syria. Trump also indicated that “we are leaving soldiers to secure the oil… and we’re securing it for a couple of reasons. Number one, it stops ISIS, because ISIS got tremendous wealth from that oil. We have taken it. It’s secured. Number two… either we’ll negotiate a deal with whoever is claiming it, if we think it’s fair, or we will militarily stop them very quickly”. He went on to remark that “what I intend to do, perhaps, is make a deal with an Exxon Mobil or one of our great companies to go in there and do it properly”.

U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper indicated that “the U.S. will maintain a reduced presence in Syria to deny ISIS access to oil revenue as we reposition for the next phase of the Defeat ISIS campaign”. Esper added that “ultimately, we always intended, as the president directed, to maintain a presence at the Al-Tanf garrison”. He also revealed that “we are now taking some action… to strengthen our position at Deir el-Zour, to ensure that we can deny ISIS access to the oil fields”, which “will include some mechanized forces”. Previously, via Twitter, President Trump had stated that “perhaps it is time for the Kurds to start heading to the oil region”.

President Trump stated that “we’ve secured the oil [in Syria], and, therefore, a small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil.  And we’re going to be protecting it, and we’ll be deciding what we’re going to do with it in the future”. He further maintained that “the nations in the region must ultimately take on the responsibility of helping Turkey and Syria police their border”. Referring to the ceasefire between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds, President Trump asserted that “should Turkey fail to honor its obligations, including the protection of religious and ethnic minorities, which I truly believe they will do, we reserve the right to re-impose crippling sanctions, including substantially increased tariffs on steel and all other products coming out of Turkey”.

Referring to Turkey’s military activities in north east Syria, Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson indicated that “Iran does not believe in a military operation. Tehran believes both countries should seek solution through dialogue,” while also acknowledging Turkey’s security concerns.

In an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia, U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper met with King Salman and  the Saudi deputy defence minister. During the visit, responding to a question on the deployment of additional U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia, Secretary Esper told reporters that “there are three tasks here: first, help the Saudis defend themselves against Iran; secondly, deter Iranian bad behaviour; and third, hold up the international rules-based order”. He further added that “the fact that the Saudis are going to underwrite that is something that we expect of all of our partners and allies, whether it's Asia or Europe, is to help share the cost, share the burden of either housing, hosting our troops on their land or supporting them in deployments, whatever the case may be”. On Syria, responding to a question on the future of the U.S. forces withdrawn from Syria to Iraq, Secretary Esper stated that “eventually, their destination is home.”

After the five-day ceasefire between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds expired, Russia and Turkey inked a memorandum of understanding stating that “Russian military police and Syrian border guards will … facilitate the removal of YPG elements and their weapons to the depth of 30km (19 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border, which should be finalized in 150 hours”.

In Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper maintained that “our mission in Afghanistan has not changed. We continue to conduct counterterrorism operations while supporting the development of the ANDSF [ie, Afghan National Defence and Security Forces]”. “We are facing a virulent terrorist threat that originated in the form of al-Qaeda, and now finds itself in the Taliban and ISIS-K and other groups”, he added. On Syria, asserting that having destroyed the physical caliphate of ISIS met both Kurds’ and U.S.’s goals, Secretary Esper specified that “we had no obligation, if you will, to defend the Kurds against a longstanding NATO ally [i.e. Turkey]”. While media reports suggested that the withdrawal process of U.S. troops from northern Syria to Iraq had started, Secretary Esper announced that “we have troops in towns in northeast Syria that are located next to the oil fields, the troops in those towns are not in the present phase of withdrawal”. He added that “a purpose of those forces, working with the SDF, is to deny access to those oil fields by ISIS and others who may benefit from revenues that could be earned”.    

U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper explained that “the U.S. withdrawal continues apace from north-eastern Syria ... we’re talking weeks not days”. He further announced that “the current game plan is for those forces to re-position into western Iraq…to help defend Iraq”.

U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo met with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem and discussed “all the efforts we’ve made to push back against the threat not only to Israel, but to the region and the world, from the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo announced that “the U.S. and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria”.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani argued that “any measure which exacerbates insecurity and increases crisis in the region should be halted immediately… the regional crises, including the Syria and Yemen crises, have no military solution and they should be settled through diplomacy and Syrian-Syrian and Yemeni-Yemeni talks”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif argued that “the imperative now is to end the incursion into Syria and address all concerns through Adana”.

Secretary of State Pompeo announced that he had discussed with Iraqi President Barham Salih “our concerns over ongoing Turkish military incursion into north east Syria and the need for Turkey to stop its military offensive”.

U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper announced that the U.S. would “begin a deliberate withdrawal of forces from northern Syria”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif argued that “the Adana Agreement between Turkey and Syria – still valid – can be the better path to achieve security. Iran can help bring together the Syrian Kurds, the Syrian government and Turkey so that the Syrian Army together with Turkey can guard the border”.

Iran’s foreign ministry expressed “concern over Turkey’s military action in Syrian territories” and called for “an immediate end to the attacks and the pullout of Turkish forces from Syrian soil”. It further reiterated that “Iran regards the current situation in the region as the fallout from extra-regional interference, especially by the U.S.”, offering “to play a role between the two countries, as it is in touch with both sides at the moment, with a view to settle problems within the framework of regional potentialities”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies”. He added that “Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people”.

President Rouhani remarked that the “establishment of security in the northern Syrian and southern Turkish borders is possible only with the presence of the Syrian army and we must provide all grounds for the Syrian military presence in these areas”. He further contended that “the Americans must leave the region, and the Kurds should cooperate with the Syrian army, which is actually their own country”. Rouhani added that “we are in a position that we need peace in the region and the Syrian refugees must return to their country faster”, and urged Turkey to “pay more attention so that we do not face any new problems in the region”.  

President Trump argued that “the U.S. has spent $8 trillion fighting and policing in the Middle East… going into the Middle East is the worst decision ever made in the history of our country”. He further declared that “now we are slowly and carefully bringing our great soldiers and military home. Our focus is on the big picture”.

In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry noted that Iran viewed “the U.S. decision to end its occupation of Syrian territories and withdraw its forces from the Arab country as a measure that must have been taken much earlier”. It further expressed “hope for the establishment of peace and stability in Syria and the region following the recent move by the U.S.” and iterated that “Iran is opposed to any possible military operation” by Turkey in Syria.

The White House announced that “Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria. The U.S. Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and U.S. forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area”. On Twitter, President Trump asserted that “it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous endless wars, many of the them tribal, and bring our soldiers home”, going on to state that the U.S. would “crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us”. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif commented that the “U.S. is an irrelevant occupier in Syria –  [it is] futile to seek its permission or rely on it for security. Achieving peace and fighting terror in Syria will only succeed thru respect for its territorial integrity and its people”. He added that “Adana provides framework for Turkey and Syria – Iran ready to help”.

Iraq and Syria reopened the border crossing at Al-Bukamal.

Secretary of State Pompeo stated that “the U.S. supports UN efforts to end military violence in Syria. Ongoing violence - fuelled by Iran and Russia - is exacerbating Syria’s dire humanitarian situation and must cease for a political solution to take root”.

The U.S. Department of Treasury issued sanctions against “one entity, three individuals and five vessels participating in a sanctions evasion scheme to facilitate the delivery of jet fuel to Russian forces operating in Syria”. In related comments, Secretary of State Pompeo stated that “the U.S. has concluded that the Assad regime used chlorine as a chemical weapon on May 19th in an attack at Latakia province, Syria… the U.S. will not allow these attacks to go unchallenged, nor will we tolerate those who choose to conceal these atrocities”.

Iran’s President Rouhani remarked that “it is strange that the enemies of the region have not yet understood the power of the regional nations’ resistance… instead of admitting that Lebanon’s Hizbollah has high capabilities and power both in scientific and military knowledge and bravery in the field, or that a part of brave young people of Iraq have liberated different cities across the country from the hands of terrorists, and instead of admitting to the growth and greatness of nations like Syria and Yemen, they are seeking to accuse others”.

President Rouhani remarked that “there is only a political solution to the Syrian crisis, and this can only be achieved through constructive interaction and participation by all Syrian people”. He further argued that “U.S. troops must leave the area as soon as possible and that the Syrian government's control must expand in the east and north of the Euphrates, as in the rest of Syria”.

Airstrikes reportedly targeted “Iran-backed militias” near Al-Bukamal, close to the Iraq-Syria border.

Iraqi paramilitary forces announced that two members of the Hizbollah Brigades had been killed in a drone attack near the Iraq-Syria border. 

Secretary of State Pompeo contented that “we're going to continue to do our best to ensure that particular shipment [of crude oil aboard the Grace 1/Adrian Darya 1 tanker] doesn't get into the hands of terrorists so it can risk American lives or lives of citizens in any other part of the world”. He further underscored that “we put in place a set of sanctions designed to deny the ayatollah the wealth to terrorise the world conventionally or with nuclear weapons, and we've been pretty effective”. We can see with Hizbollah…we can see with the Shiite forces in Iraq. We can see that they have fewer dollars. They're having to make really difficult decisions about whether to spend money on defence or just spend money back home”. He added that “we hope they will ultimately conclude that the best thing to do is to rejoin the community of nations, to stop conducting assassination campaigns in Europe, to cease with terror operations supporting Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip or Hizbollah in Lebanon and Syria”. “I don’t know that they will”, Pompeo assessed. “They’re pretty wedded to it, it’s ideological. It’s not even about logic. It’s deeply ingrained in their revolutionary culture, and we hope that the Iranian people will see a way to get the leadership in Iran to change its behaviour”.