Iran should retain its low-profile stance on Kurds in Syria as any change of approach could negatively affect its relations with other regional players, a political analyst said.
In a recent interview with the Iranian Diplomacy website, Bahram Amir-Ahmadian, an expert on Turkish and Syrian affairs, described Iran’s decision to stake out a muted position on developments regarding Kurdish Syrians as “very logical” and “appropriate”.
“Any Iranian reaction to the issue of Syrian Kurds can have repercussions in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Turkish Kurdistan and Iran’s Kurdestan,” he said, when asked whether Iran would become more vocal on the situation of Syrian Kurdish groups following US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw troops from Syria.
While US forces have yet to leave, the consequences of Trump’s decision are already playing out in Syria.
Turkey has said it plans to launch a new military operation in Kurdish-dominated northern Syria in the near future, targeting fighters whom it sees as a national security threat and are supported by American troops east of the Euphrates River.
Alarmed by the US decision to leave Syria, Kurdish leaders are urging Russia and its ally Damascus to send forces to shield the border from the threat of a Turkish offensive, Reuters reported.
Russian-backed Syrian government forces have deployed near the city of Manbij, which is located some 30 km from the Turkish border and occupies a critical spot in the map of the Syrian conflict.
Iran has said any operation by external powers should be carried out in coordination with the Damascus government, otherwise it could complicate the situation in the war-ravaged Arab state.
Tehran-Ankara Ties
Amir-Ahmadian maintains that a change of attitude by Tehran toward this sensitive issue may cloud relations between the two countries—who have been brought closer together by opposition to renewed US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“So in the future, as in the past several years, Tehran will refrain from interfering or taking a strong stand on Syrian Kurds and the eastern Euphrates region and will not be seeking to directly get involved in such issues,” he said.
The expert added that Kurdish groups in Syria have become a force to be reckoned with, as they have been trained for years by US advisors and gained massive experience during their fight against the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group.
He also stated that the US president’s decision to pull out its 2,000 troops from Syria is part of a bigger picture.
It could be interpreted as a “tactical change” by the United States, Amir-Ahmadian said, adding that Washington is devising new strategies to change the tide of events in the Middle East in its favor.
