We have seen reports asserting that the United States has changed its policy regarding the need for all Iranian-commanded forces to exit all of Syria. To clarify, the United States has made no such policy change. It remains a key goal of the Administration to bring about a full withdrawal of Iranian-commanded forces from Syria, and we will continue to place diplomatic pressure on the Assad regime, the Iranian regime, and their allies in order to achieve this goal. The highly destabilizing role played by Iranian regime forces, Iranian proxy militias including Lebanese Hizballah, and Iranian heavy weapons inside Syria necessitates that they leave Syria so that peace and stability can be restored. The Iranian regime continues to seek to establish destabilizing power projection platforms inside Syria that the Iranian regime can use to threaten Syria’s neighbors, and as President Trump and Secretary Pompeo have repeatedly declared, this behavior by the Iranian regime must cease.
