Bolton: We Will Not Withdraw Our Forces Until Iranians Leave Syrian Soil

John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor, stated on Monday, September 24, that the U.S. military will remain in Syria until Iranian forces leave. Bolton spoke at a press conference alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley ahead of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He also described Moscow's decision to equip the Syrian army with S-300 air defense systems as a 'tangible worsening' of the regional situation by Russia, but expressed hope that Moscow would reconsider this decision. Just hours before Bolton's remarks, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Russia's decision to provide S-300 systems to Syria in the next two weeks. Shoigu noted that Russia had previously stalled the delivery of S-300 systems to Syria in 2013 at Israel's request while training Syrian forces to operate them. However, he stated that this time 'the conditions have changed for reasons that Russia has not played a role in.' The new decision from Moscow comes just seven days after the downing of a Russian military aircraft in Syrian airspace due to a misfired missile from Syrian air defenses during Israeli bombing operations in Latakia, Syria. Russian officials stated that the delivery of S-300 to Syria is not related to the friction between Russia and Israel over the downed aircraft but is intended to strengthen Syria and defend Russian troops stationed there. General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, stated on September 23 that Israel was 'entirely to blame' for the incident that led to the downing of the Il-20 aircraft in Syria and the death of its 15 crew members, but the Israeli military firmly rejected this senior Russian military's explanation. According to Reuters, Bolton also said on Monday that Iran is responsible for the downing of the Russian aircraft and for aggression against Syria and Lebanon. While the U.S. National Security Advisor called on Russia to reconsider its decision to equip Syria with S-300 systems, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, expressed hope that this would not disrupt Russia-Israel relations. However, according to Reuters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone just hours after the announcement of Russia's intention to equip Syria with S-300 systems. Israel has shown significant sensitivity each time news of Russia's intention to deliver these systems to Syria has emerged, and Russia has so far taken Israeli military considerations into account regarding Syria. Like Iran, Russia supports the survival of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, but Israel perceives the military consolidation of Iran and its allies in Syria as 'putting a noose around its neck' and has conducted airstrikes against primarily Iranian targets in Syria over 200 times in the past year and a half. Equipping Syria with S-300 could make Israel more cautious in its next operations in Syria, but the country has other capabilities, such as F-35 stealth aircraft, to continue its operations, although it has acquired these advanced jets from the U.S. for more significant military plans, including potential confrontations with Iran.