BICOM

The US and Israel reportedly told Russia at last month’s trilateral NSAs meeting in Jerusalem that any Syria deal must include an Iranian withdrawal from Lebanon and Iraq.

According to US officials involved in the meeting, US National Security Advisor John Bolton and his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, told Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, that the pull-out of Iranian forces from Syria is insufficient, saying that any deal should also address Iran’s precision missile factories for Hezbollah in Lebanon and arming Shiite militias in Iraq with long-range missiles.

US officials said: “Bolton made it clear to Patrushev that, in any case, Russia is the one that needs to take the first step regarding the Iranian presence in Syria — and only then the US could give them things they want.”

At the press conference following the trilateral meeting, Patrushev rejected the US and Israeli view that Iran represents “the main threat to regional security,” arguing that: “Iran is contributing a lot to fighting terrorists on Syrian soil and stabilising the situation there.” Patrushev added that Moscow is aware of Israel’s security concerns over Iran’s military presence in Syria and was working to address the issue with Tehran, but said Israeli airstrikes in Syria were “undesirable.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his Syria envoy, Alexander Lavrentiev, to Tehran last week to brief Iran’s National Security Adviser Ali Shamkhani on the results of the summit.

According to Israel’s Channel 13 News, Israeli and US officials say the Iranians are very concerned that Russia could strike a deal on Syria with Israel and the US at their expense. Russia is seeking US and Israeli agreement to stabilise the Syrian regime and hopes that the Trump administration will encourage other Western countries to engage in reconstruction efforts in the war torn country.