Pentagon refutes reports of withdrawal of US forces from 3 Syria bases

The US Department of Defence has denied the validity of Iranian media reports about the withdrawal of US troops from its military bases in Syria.

A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed in a statement to the Russian RIA Novosti: “This is not true. The standards of our mission in Syria remain the same. We made calls this morning to confirm this.”

On Wednesday, the Iranian Al-Alam channel had previously quoted an unidentified military source, claiming that the US evacuated three of its military bases in Al-Omar field, east of Deir ez-Zor, Tall Baydar and Qasrak in the countryside of Al-Hasakah governorate.

Most of the lands of the oil-rich governorates of Al-Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa (north and north-eastern Syria) are under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the Global Coalition Against Daesh led by the US.

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Syrian authorities accuse the US of working to: “Smuggle Syrian oil and sell it abroad to deprive the Syrians of it in a flagrant violation of international law.”

In 2019, former US President Donald Trump approved a plan to withdraw his country’s forces deployed in Syria. However, as a result of pressure from members of his administration, he later decided to keep 900 military personnel to ensure US control of the oil fields seized in the Jazira Region.