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Idlib Offensive Awaits Tehran Summit, Russia ‘Won’t Indefinitely Tolerate Situation’

Destruction in Syria’s Idlib province. AFP file photo
Destruction in Syria’s Idlib province. AFP file photo
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Idlib Offensive Awaits Tehran Summit, Russia ‘Won’t Indefinitely Tolerate Situation’

Destruction in Syria’s Idlib province. AFP file photo
Destruction in Syria’s Idlib province. AFP file photo

Moscow is awaiting a tripartite summit in Tehran next Friday to develop a Russian-Turkish-Iranian joint vision on a solution in Idlib, while Foreign Minister Sergei warned that Russia “could not indefinitely” tolerate the situation in the opposition-held Syrian province.

Speaking to university students in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov said the Syrian regime, Russia’s ally, had every right to wipe out militants in northern Idlib, Interfax news agency reported.

In a message addressed to Ankara, Lavrov stressed the need to separate the moderate opposition from terrorists.

"We are now taking the most active effort, together with our Turkish colleagues, together with the Syrian government, and with the Iranians as participants in the Astana format, to split the armed normal opposition forces from the terrorists on the ground,” Lavrov said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived Monday on a surprise visit to Damascus, where he held talks with head of the Syrian regime Bashar Assad and his Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who is just back from a visit to Moscow.

His visit to Syria follows that of Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami last week.

Zarif met Assad to discuss "issues on the agenda for the tripartite meeting," according to the Syrian presidency's account on the Telegram messaging app.

Assad's office also said Iran and Syria "had similar views on the different issues" to be discussed.

On Sunday, informed Syrian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that regime forces were awaiting presidential orders to kick off an offensive against Idlib.

Assad has pledged to defeat the opposition in its last refuge in the northwestern province if the fighters do not surrender to government rule.

Sources said Monday that differences between Russia and Turkey concerning the situation in Idlib have declined following talks held between the two sides in the past weeks.

However, Russian media outlets said the gap has widened between Moscow and Tehran.

A Russian expert wrote on the Svobodnaya Pressa website that “Tehran is no more in need of Moscow in Syria,” and that it was working on enhancing its own presence and interests there.

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Iraq Reiterates Need for Int’l Coalition Forces to Remain

A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
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Iraq Reiterates Need for Int’l Coalition Forces to Remain

A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)
A convoy of US forces seen on the border between Syria and Iraq. (Reuters file)

Iraq’s security and defense committee announced on Sunday that “the need still stands” for the US-led anti-ISIS international coalition to remain in the country.

It made its announcement days after Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi made similar remarks.

In televised statements, he stressed that the international troops were still needed in Syria, adding that “Iraq and Syria’s security are indivisible.”

Security and military coordination with the coalition continues, he said.

Baghdad has not received any official notice about the withdrawal of the forces from Syria or Iraq, he revealed.

Iraq had in 2024 held three rounds of dialogue with the United States about organizing the presence of the coalition after the completion of the pullout of remaining American forces.

Pro-Iran factions in Iraq, which had for years demanded the withdrawal, have so far not commented on the latest statements about the coalition.

Abbasi added that the American and coalition forces were necessary in Syria to maintain the fight against ISIS remnants, which continue to be a cross-border threat.

The US Defense Department recently said that American troop movement from northern and eastern Syria to more secure locations in Iraq was part of a calculated, safe and professional redeployment plan aimed at consolidating the successes against ISIS and cementing regional stability.

It does not mean the end of the coalition’s mission in Syria, it added.

A Pentagon official said local partners remain in the field in Syria and are an effective force against ISIS.

The US will continue to empower those partners in performing most of their remaining counter-terrorism duties, including guarding ISIS detainees, he went on to say.

ISIS is seeking to exploit any instability in the area, but the US efforts to deter its resurgence cannot be underestimated. The coalition remains committed to achieving the permanent defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, he vowed.

Member of the security and defense committee Yasser Iskander Watout said on Sunday that Iraq needs major logistic and aerial support since the means at its disposal were not enough to control borders with neighbors.

The continued deployment of the international coalition forces is “necessary and realistic”, he said.

The Interior Ministry and border and security forces have secured the border with Syria, but members of the committee said the need remains for aerial support to bolster stability in the area, he revealed.

Watout agreed with Abbasi on the need for the international forces to remain given that it boasts air forces that have effectively secured Iraq’s skies.

He noted that recent government contracts for the purchase of 14 modern jets “were not enough to cover all our needs.”

The coalition currently has 2,500 forces deployed in Iraq to counter ISIS and offer Iraqi forces logistic support.

Pro-Iran factions that have long been opposed to the international troops have not commented on the recent statements on their continued deployment given the Israeli threats against Tehran and US President Donald Trump’s urging of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against carrying out attacks against the factions themselves.