US to limit Iran’s expansion in Syria ‘indirectly’

US concerned as Iran ramps up support for Hezbollah and deploys pro-Al Assad forces

The US military will not openly confront Iran, but will instead use indirect means to limit its expansion in Syria, a top commander said last week, as Western nations consider stepping up their response to Tehran’s support for armed groups across the Middle East.

Gen. Joseph Votel, who heads US Central Command, said that US support for government troops in Iraq and a Kurdishdominated partner force in Syria could help ensure that Tehran is unable to freely smuggle supplies and personnel into Syria, where Iranian-backed forces are fighting in support of Bashar Al Assad.

“This is one of the ways that we can begin to impede Iran’s malign activities,” Votel said in a phone interview. “There are some things we can do that are indirect that we’re able to accomplish within the confines of our defeat-[Daesh] mission that we have ongoing.”

While military leaders, concerned about being dragged into Syria’s broader civil war, have sought to tightly focus their mission there on extremists, they have also watched with concern as Iran has ramped up support for militias like Lebanon’s Hezbollah and deployed forces of its own in a bid to keep Al Assad in power.

Despite those concerns, Votel’s comments indicate a desire to avoid triggering a confrontation with Iran at a time when the Pentagon is hoping to wind down insurgent wars in the Middle East and renew its focus on China and Russia.

The general spoke a day after President Donald Trump, suggesting a possible shift in US strategy for Syria, hinted that the US would act to halt Iran’s ability to reach across Syria to the Mediterranean Sea.

In addition to Syria, Votel named a number of indirect measures the United States might take across the Middle East, including seeking to deter proxy activity by positioning troops in the region, deploying naval vessels in waters contested by Iran, and providing support to allied nations’ defences, such as ballistic missiles in Saudi Arabia.

Secondly, Votel said, the US military will seek to build up partnerships with local forces across the region, “making them capable and resilient to deal with the kind of destabilising activities that Iranians perpetrate.”

Finally, the US will disrupt Iran’s activities, including by intercepting weapons shipments.

Votel described the results that such indirect measures have had to date on Syria as a “work in progress.” “It’s a difficult, dynamic, complex environment to work in and something we’re always working on,” he said.

Asked how he would measure US success in checking Iran’s ability to expand further in the region, Votel said he would look at its ability to smuggle weaponry to allied groups and position forces in vulnerable areas.

While most Western officials have stopped hoping that Al Assad will be forced from power in the near-term, Votel disputed the notion that the leader’s patron, Iran, would enjoy lasting on-theground influence in Syria.

Votel said the ultimate goal of US operations in Syria — although focused primarily on Daesh — would be to enable a political solution, he argued, that would check Iran and Russia’s influence there.

“I don’t think we should take it as a foregone conclusion, that the international community has to accept that,” he said.