Assad should not be Tehran’s puppet: Saudi Crown Prince

CAIRO – 31 March 2018: “We believe American troops should stay for at least the mid-term, if not the long-term,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) told TIME magazine Thursday in an interview, despite the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump had declared earlier that American forces will be pulled from Syria in the near future.

Bin Salman is on a multi-city tour in the United States for his first official visit since being named crown prince last June. American media described him as the most powerful Saudi ruler in decades. The 32-year old Bin Salman serves as First Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, and Minister of Defense, in addition to his position as the crown prince, making him the closest person to the Saudi throne after King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who has been the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and head of the House of Saud since 2015.

Iran’s expansion in the Middle East may be limited by the presence of the American troops inside Syria. MBS believes that Iran has run a proxy war in Syria through the militias of Hezbollah and other regional allies. “The Shiite Crescent may give Iran a greater foothold in the region,” MBS added.

The crown prince stressed that the withdrawal of the American troops from Syria could create “a lot of things in the region,” affirming, “If you take those troops out from east Syria, you will lose that checkpoint.”

A few days ago, Trump announced the potential withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, noting, “We’re coming out of Syria very soon. Let the other people take care of it now, very soon. Very soon, we’re coming out.”

Earlier, senior Pentagon and State Department officials said the U.S. will keep troops inside Syria to eliminate the last remaining militants and prevent a new group from emerging. Throughout the last four years, a total of 14 U.S. troops have been killed fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. About 2,000 U.S. troops are cooperating with Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces to recapture territory from ISIS, including Raqqa.

Saudi Arabia and Trump have many common interests in the region. Both MBS and Trump seem critical of Iran. Recently, Trump appointed John Bolton as the new secretary of state, while Bolton has been an outspoken critic of Iran. Thus, this may reshape American foreign policy toward Tehran, according to analysts.

Iran and Russia have backed the Syrian regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, to defeat ISIS and other related militants that have spawned since the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011.

Bin Salman said Assad is not “likely to be ousted from power.” He added that he hopes that Assad will not become a “puppet” for Tehran, according to his remarks to TIME. “Bashar is staying,” MBS said, adding, “But I believe that Bashar’s interests are not to let the Iranians do whatever they want they want to do.”