Iran defence minister in Damascus for talks

▶ Amir Hatami tells of hopes for role in ‘reconstruction of Syria,’ as colleague says US is waging ‘psychological war’

Iran’s Defence Minister Amir Hatami arrived in Syria yesterday for meetings with “senior defence and military officials”.

Tehran has backed Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in the seven-year civil war.

“We hope to have a productive role in the reconstruction of Syria,” Mr Hatami told Iran’s semi-official Fars News agency.

Washington has repeatedly criticised Tehran and its ally, Hezbollah, for their involvement in the conflict.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said last week that Iran should withdraw its forces from the country. Israel has also expressed concern over Iranian government and proxy forces operating near the occupied Golan Heights. It has also struck dozens of Hezbollah and Iranian military targets in Syria, killing high-ranking members of both organisations.

Officials in Tehran say that their military presence in Syria is at the invitation of the government and they have no immediate plan to withdraw.

Estimates place the Iranian death toll, including senior members of the elite Revolutionary Guard, at well over 1,000 since 2012.

Initially, the IRGC kept its role in the Syrian conflict quiet, but as casualties mounted they have been more outspoken about their engagement.

Meanwhile, a senior US diplomat visited Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria on Saturday as the group negotiates with Damascus about its future role in the country.

Ambassador William Roebuck said US forces would also stay in Syria, after conflicting statements from US officials in recent months including a call by US President Donald Trump to withdraw troops.

“We are prepared to stay here, as the president has made clear, to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Mr Roebuck said. He toured Shaddadi town in the north-west province of Hasaka after visiting the towns of Kobani and Manbij.

Kurdish officials have reportedly been meeting regime contacts in recent weeks to negotiate a deal for the future of a Kurdish majority area in north Syria. Unlike rebel groups and hardliners, the SDF and other Kurdish factions have not fought significant battles with the regime.

Mr Roebuck is expected to continue to Deir Ezzor in the east where Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, is fighting ISIS’s last significant Syria stronghold.

US support for the SDF has allowed it to expel ISIS from much of the country’s northeast. There was fighting between the SDF, with significant US-led air power, and ISIS in the cities of Manbij and Kobani.

The regime, with support from Iran, Russia and Hezbollah, has regained much of the territory lost to rebels and ISIS in the early years of the war.

Under Mr Trump, the US has again stepped up action against Iranian forces by pulling out of the 2015 nuclear agreement, reimposing sanctions and looking for ways to counter Tehran’s influence in the region. Other parties to the 2015 agreement are still trying to find ways to save the deal.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said “[America’s] focus is on a psychological war against Iran and its business partners”.

The UN Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, will host Iran, Russia and Turkey for talks on a new Syrian constitution in mid-September.

Representatives of the three nations will meet Mr de Mistura at the UN’s headquarters in Geneva, spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said. He vowed to have a constitutional committee in place before leaders meet at the General Assembly in New York next month.

It will probably require further talks, including with Mr Al Assad’s government, but Mrs Vellucci said she had no details of additional meetings scheduled for next month.

Mr de Mistura’s efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict have produced no breakthrough despite several rounds of peace talks in Geneva.

Officials in Tehran say Iran’s military presence in Syria is at the invitation of the government