US Special Envoy: Syria Pullout Doesn’t Effect Iran Strategy

Maximum pressure campaign against Iran to continue

US special envoy on Iran Brian Hook told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the administration does not consider the withdrawal from Syria to in any way impact US hostility toward Iran.

Hook said the administration remains “very comfortable” with its Iran strategy, and that the “maximum pressure” campaign will continue. He added troops in northern Syria never had an Iran mission set.

Some Senators were eager to make Syria all about Iran, however, with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) claiming Iran was “smiling from ear to ear as Turkey rushed into Syria.” Romney also claimed Turkey’s invasion made Assad stronger.

Hook dismissed this argument, saying the US military was only ever in Syria for ISIS, and US policy against Iran remains purely diplomatic. Romney rejected that idea, saying diplomacy would only work if the US had a lot of troops in the area.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.