05 Sep 2021; MEMO: The US Department of Defence has denied the validity of Iranian media reports about the withdrawal of US troops from its military bases in Syria.
A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed in a statement to the Russian RIA Novosti: "This is not true. The standards of our mission in Syria remain the same. We made calls this morning to confirm this."
On Wednesday, the Iranian Al-Alam channel had previously quoted an unidentified military source, claiming that the US evacuated three of its military bases in Al-Omar field, east of Deir ez-Zor, Tall Baydar and Qasrak in the countryside of Al-Hasakah governorate.
Most of the lands of the oil-rich governorates of Al-Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa (north and north-eastern Syria) are under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the Global Coalition Against Daesh led by the US.
Syrian authorities accuse the US of working to: "Smuggle Syrian oil and sell it abroad to deprive the Syrians of it in a flagrant violation of international law."
In 2019, former US President Donald Trump approved a plan to withdraw his country's forces deployed in Syria. However, as a result of pressure from members of his administration, he later decided to keep 900 military personnel to ensure US control of the oil fields seized in the Jazira Region.
