Washington - The United States perceives the situation in the Middle East as becoming more "escalatory," with Russia and Iran allegedly engaging in "provocative" acts, The Washington Post reports citing anonymous White House officials.
According to the officials, Russian aircraft have allegedly been "menacing" US planes through dangerous manoeuvres and Russia has been conducting airstrikes in Syria that could be perceived as harassment, the newspaper said on Sunday, referring to the strike at Tanf, when Russia gave a 35-minute warning to US personnel.
In addition, there have been "multiple instances" in June of what US military officials have decried as "provocative," "escalatory," or "unsafe and unprofessional" acts by Russia and Iran, The Washington Post said.
“The biggest question US policymakers have to wrestle with is that at some point, the Emiratis, Saudis, Israelis, and other Middle Eastern allies, if they don’t believe that the United States is going to deter Iran on its own, they’ll be looking for ways to deter Iran by themselves,” Raphael S. Cohen, who researches military strategy and doctrine at the RAND Corporation, told the newspaper on Sunday.
The US Central Command declined to offer further details to The Washington Post regarding the above mentioned alleged "provocations" on the part of Iran and Russia.
The US military illegally controls territories in the north and northeast of Syria in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah and Raqqa, where the largest oil and gas fields in Syria are located. Damascus has repeatedly called the presence of the US military on its territory occupation and state piracy with the aim of outright theft of oil.
Sputnik