America renews its rejection of normalization with the Assad regime, and Iran demands the exit of foreign forces from Syria

Dana Stroul, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, said that the administration of President Joe Biden does not intend to normalize relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has demanded the exit of foreign forces from Syria.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Stroul made it clear that the Syrian regime has committed many atrocities, and that if the behavior of this regime does not change, Washington does not intend to normalize relations with it.

She added that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will discuss during his visit to the region the Iranian threats, and that the United States believes that cooperation with partners and allies must be done to confront these threats.

Stroll confirmed that her country is extending its hand to cooperate with the "5 + 1" group, and that it is ready to return to the nuclear agreement with Iran in order to contain its nuclear program.

She also stressed the need to confront the Iranian threats in the region, represented by the ballistic missile program, drones, and threats to navigation, as well as the arming and financing of militias in other countries, she said.

And last Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh welcomed the visit of UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Syria on the ninth of this month and his meeting with Assad. The spokesman said, "It is gratifying that countries (...) are publicly normalizing their relations with Syria." "This step is in the interest of all countries in the region," he said.

Khatibzadeh stressed during a press conference that Iran "not only welcomes this path, but is also doing what it can to speed up the pace of Arab countries' restoration of normal relations with Syria."

During a press conference in Washington that brought together the US and Qatari foreign ministers on Friday, the two ministers affirmed their rejection of normalization with the Assad regime, and they also agreed on concern that some countries might do so.

President and Putin

On the other hand, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that Russia and Tehran should cooperate on regional issues.

In a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Raisi stressed that his country rejects the continued presence of foreign forces in Syria.

The Iranian president said that his country believes that the presence of these forces contradicts the demands of the Syrian people and threatens security and stability.