By Ramin Hossein Abadian
TEHRAN - The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have just began new actions in eastern Syria. Meanwhile, leaked audio from a Syrian opponent reveals that Riyadh and Washington are launching a new plan in eastern Syria.
The leaked audio, in which Michel Kilo, one of the Syrian opposition leaders, is speaking, shows that these parties intend to launch a specific plan in eastern Syria. In the audio, he emphasizes that Riyadh and Washington have formed a group called “Tribal Council” throughout Syria. Kilo stated: “the Geneva process faces international disregard, the weakness of the United Nations, and the lack of Russian-American agreement.” He added, “Tribal Council was formed due to disapproval of Kurdish political project by the U.S.”
Noting that Saudi Arabian and U.S. officials did not directly enter the areas controlled by the Kurds during their visit to eastern Syria, he called the action a “clear message” from the U.S. to the Kurds. He declared that Washington told the Kurds that they are not in charge of this area. Kilo pointed out, “The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are trying to organize the area to form a political reality based on Arab tribes.”
These statements come as news sources announced in mid-June that the Saudi Minister of State for Arab (Persian) Gulf Affairs Thamer Al Sabhan , the U.S. Undersecretary of State Joel Rubin and former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain William Roebuck arrived in Deir Ez-Zor, east of Syria and met with some of the sheikhs and tribal figures in the area. At the meeting, apparently, the preparations for forming the council were discussed.
The fact is that the U.S. is working to reinforce its policies in the eastern Euphrates, east and north of Syria. In this respect, the U.S. seeks to turn the situation in the area in its own favor, so that its interests are not affected by further changes.
Therefore, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on a joint plan to form a “proxy state” in eastern Syria. In this plan, Saudi Arabia should pay all the expenses of the proxy state, and in return the U.S. will perform all necessary administrative measures to achieve the goal.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have united the tribes and local figures to achieve their goal. They are seeking to form an independent state by convincing sheikhs and local figures in Deir ez Zor. This is exactly what was mentioned in the leaked audio. In the audio, Kilo explicitly pointed to the new plan.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are trying to form Tribal Council and also think about creating self-governing system for the Kurds in eastern Syria. In this regard, the Arabic-language Al-Araby Al-Jadeed )The New Arab( said in a statement, “One of the main goals of Riyadh and Washington in eastern Syria is forming a self-governing system for the Kurds to protect their interests on behalf of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.”
The source also quotes Abdul Hamid Al-Mohammadi, one of the native activists in eastern Syria, as saying “the purpose of U.S.-Saudi Arabia meetings in Deir ez-Zor in recent months is to impose Kurdish sovereignty on the inhabitant of eastern areas, however they disagree with this sovereignty.”
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are attempting to establish self-determination for the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Forces, while “the independent Arab movement”, an opposition group, was formed with the assistance of Washington and Riyadh. The main purpose of the movement is to legitimize the Kurds’ dominance in eastern areas of Syria so that their self-determination does not face fierce protests by the regional inhabitants.
Riyadh and Washington’s officials believe that Turkey may act against them if they do not support the Kurds of eastern Syria. Regarding Ankara’s cooperation with Tehran and Moscow, it is likely that eastern part of Syria will be completely governed by Damascus, with tripartite agreement of Iran, Turkey, and Russia. To this end, the U.S.-Saudi Arabia coalition is expecting to face Turkey if it continues its movements in eastern Syria.
One of the serious consequences of U.S. and Saudi Arabia’s actions in Syria is preparing the ground for terrorism. The consolidation of U.S.-Saudi backed Kurdish group provides this opportunity for Riyadh and Washington to dispatch their trained Takfiris to the area whenever they wish.
The U.S. has repeatedly claimed that it has spent more than 7 trillion dollars in the region without any rewards. This is the point that Donald Trump always mentions. Therefore, Americans have no desire to leave Syria without any achievement. That is why Washington has not taken any serious step to remove its military from Syria, despite making successive decisions.
On the other hand, after experiencing various defeats in the region, especially in Yemen and Iraq, Saudi Arabia’s officials found themselves facing another major defeat by clearing the southern areas and consequently reducing Riyadh’s influence. That is why they oblige themselves to support a series of Washington’s adversarial plans on the eastern part of Syria.
Washington and Riyadh do not appear to reach their desired result through the new plan, especially as the war is almost over. It means that the Takfiris have no place in the country. The history has proved that using Syrian Kurdish Democratic Forces to put pressure on Damascus and violate Syria’s sovereignty is a futile attempt that has never been in the interests of Saudi Arabia and the United States.
