US Seeks to Downplay Russia’s Military Campaign in Syria: Analyst
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian analyst and former diplomat said Washington is trying to play down Russia’s successful aerial raids against ISIL and other terrorist groups in Syria.
“US and other Western representatives accuse Russian pilots of killing civilians in Syria… These accusations are totally unfounded,” Seyed Hadi Afqahi told Sputnik on Saturday.
“NATO and US intelligence knows perfectly well that the Russian air force is targeting the positions of ISIL and other terrorist groups, nothing else. But the Americans are still trying to play down the Russians’ successful aerial operation in Syria in order to justify the ‘imitation’ war they have been waging against ISIL,” he noted.
Afqahi added that ongoing Russian attacks against the terrorist groups have struck fear into the hearts of US military planners in Washington.
He also said he was confident that Iran would be ready to send troops to support the Syrian armed forces but only when officially asked to by the Syrian government.
“Right now, there are no Iranian soldiers in Syria,” he stressed.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with the government fighting against multiple terrorist groups, such as ISIL and the Nusra Front.
Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25, Su-24M and Su-34 attack aircraft, with the support of Su-30 jets, commenced precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Over 140 sorties have been carried out by the Russian military since the Syria campaign began.
Earlier in October, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad confirmed that the strikes were being carried out against armed terrorist organizations and not political opposition factions or civilians. He added that Russia’s airstrikes had destroyed 40 percent of ISIL's infrastructure in Syria.