Political analyst: Russia, US plan to keep Assad, expel Iran

The United States and Russia are currently discussing a joint plan to keep Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in power while expelling Iran from war-torn Syria, the Middle East policy expert, Salman Shaikh, said yesterday.

“The Iranian presence in Syria is crucial for Tehran,” Shaikh told CNN, stressing that “the American-Russian plan to keep Bashar Al-Assad in power and take Iran out of Syria won’t succeed.”

“Discussions on a big deal between the two countries are currently taking place,” he added. “It is good that Russia and the US are cooperating with one another.”

The Syrian file, the Qatari politician pointed out, requires wider international engagement, especially from European countries.

“In my opinion, removing Iran from Syria is unlikely to happen because Tehran considers its survival in Syrian as strategic,” he insisted.

Read: 45,000 Syrians flee their homes after Assad strikes Daraa