Trump Administration Not Seeking Assad’s Ouster, Accepts Iran’s Involvement In Diplomatic Process

The United States’ special representative for Syria confirmed Monday that the Trump administration is not seeking to topple the Assad regime and accepts that Iran will play a role in the diplomatic process aimed at achieving a political solution to end the nearly eight-year conflict. James Jeffrey nevertheless stressed that Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers need to create a “fundamentally different” atmosphere in Damascus if they expect Washington to fund reconstruction projects once the war concludes. Jeffrey estimated that it will cost $300-400 billion to rebuild Syria and suggested that Western powers will not commit financial aid unless their concerns are alleviated. Presently, the Syrian peace process is being dominated by the so-called Astana talks between representatives from Moscow, Tehran and Ankara, with parallel United Nations-backed negotiations in Geneva long-stalled in large part due to infighting within the Syrian opposition. Despite the acknowledgment regarding Tehran, Jeffrey reiterated a demand that all Iranian forces vacate Syria, a position strongly advocated by Israel which has conducted hundreds of aerial raids targeting the Islamic Republic’s military infrastructure therein. Jeffrey’s comments essentially complete the U.S.’ about-face with respect Assad, who then-president Barack Obama in August 2011 explicitly said had lost legitimacy and must therefore be removed from power.