Tillerson calls Iran a ‘strategic threat’ in Syria, vowing to diminish its presence

Undercutting Iran’s influence in Syria has emerged as a central goal for the Trump administration as it laid out its new political and military strategy for the ongoing conflict.

In a speech from the Hoover Institution in California, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson called Iran a “strategic threat”, adding that a diminished Iranian influence is a one of five primary goals for the administration in Syria.

Mr Tillerson, speaking after a months’ long review that the Trump team initiated on Syria, presented the US vision for securing its interests and attempting to end the conflict.

“For nearly fifty years, the Syrian people have suffered under the dictatorships of Hafez Al Assad, and his son Bashar Al Assad,” Mr Tillerson said, describing the regime in Damascus as “malignant” as “its sponsors Iran”.

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