Israeli military says Iran is slowly pulling out of Syria

Source:Yahoo News Date:23May2020

If true, this would be very good news for Turkey’s objectives in Syria

The Israeli military described the withdrawal as “a backward movement from various locations to other locations that are further away and in reduced numbers.” It said the movement was ”not massive, not overwhelming,” but that it was also “undeniable.”

The military shared its findings in a briefing with reporters and said they were based on classified intelligence, without elaborating.

The military partly attributed the pullback to growing discontent in Iran, where the economy has cratered under U.S. sanctions and authorities have struggled to contain the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East.

In a speech earlier this month, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah described Israeli reports about Syria’s allies abandoning it as “empty” talk and “wishful thinking.”

He acknowledged some movement by Iranian military advisers and a reduction of personnel in some areas, but said that was because fighting there had ended and Syria had “won.” He said Israel is lying when it links those movements to its airstrikes.