December 31, The Iran Project - Donald Trump’s abrupt decision Dec. 19 to withdraw US troops from eastern Syria has sparked different reactions, both inside and outside the United States. Allies including France and Britain expressed their dissatisfaction over the move. Russia and Turkey as two pillars of the Astana process, welcomed the decision. Iranian officials also reacted to the move and called it a "defeat" for the Americans.

The US and a number of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

It can be said that 2018 has ended on a note of triumph for the Syrian government given the rapid exit of US military from Syria and a race among Arab states to restore ties with Damascus.

"Wrong" from the start

Reacting to a recent decision by the United States to withdraw its military forces from Syria, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the arrival and presence of American troops in the region has been, from the very start, a "wrong, illogical, and tension-inducing" move, and is always considered as a contributing factor to instability and insecurity in the region.

“A careful review of the history of developments in the region in the past few decades until now shows that the presence of foreign forces in this vital and critical region under various pretexts has no outcome other than tension, insecurity, and escalation of disputes,” Ghasemi noted.

Death of US policies in ME

On the sidelines of a seminar in the capital Tehran dubbed as "40 years of conspiracy, 40 years of resistance", IRGC Deputy Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami stated that the United States’ withdrawal from Syria proves the defeat and death of its strategies and policies in the region.

“Americans spent a lot of money and eventually left Syria. Americans signed JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and then pulled out of it. Americans waged economic wars with powers with whom they have heavy economic interactions. All of these indicate their failure in the realm of politics.”

The more conspiracies organized against the Iranian nation, the lesser their effect will become, said the IRGC official, adding, “we are witnessing this in the field of economic sanctions.”

"US has no choice but to flee region"

In response to the US move, the deputy head of the Iranian Army’s Center for Strategic Studies Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan Nami said that Washington has no way other than escaping from the region.

The Americans, themselves, have created the Daesh (ISIS o ISIL) terrorist group, he said, adding that Daesh got into trouble more than 19 times, and the US provided them with their needed weapons and equipment.

"No place for US in Middle East"

Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military aide to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, reminded the US of the heavy casualties it has suffered in its military campaigns in the Middle East and said the US must leave the region.

Echoing comments by the Leader about the need for the US to get out of the region, the general said, “The US must leave West Asia. This region belongs to us.”

Describing Iran, China, Russia, and India as the world’s new eastern powers in the current century, Major General Rahim Safavi said the modern Iranian-Islamic culture and civilization have stood against the American liberalism.

In remarks in June, Ayatollah Khamenei said the US president has acknowledged that his country has spent $7 trillion in West Asia without achieving any results, describing it as the US defeat in the region.

"US exit from Syria insignificant"

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri asserted that the United States is only fueling insecurity in the Persian Gulf through its presence in the strategic region.

The top Iranian military chief said US President Donald Trump's Syria plan was of no significance for defensive and security missions in the region.

"The US exit from Syria was the humiliating withdrawal of a country that was present there without the consent and approval of the [Syrian] people and the legal government," Baqeri said.