{"id":146713,"date":"2025-04-16T11:11:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T07:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abcmedia.am\/?p=146713"},"modified":"2025-04-16T11:26:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T07:26:14","slug":"us-may-halve-number-of-troops-in-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abcmedia.am\/en\/politics\/146713\/","title":{"rendered":"US may halve number of troops in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. military is set to consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months, two U.S. officials told Reuters<\/a> on Tuesday, in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military has about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria across a number of bases, mostly in the northeast. The troops are working with local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria but was later pushed back.<\/p>\n

One of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that consolidation could reduce the number of troops in Syria to about 1,000.<\/p>\n

Another U.S. official confirmed the plan for a reduction, but said there was no certainty on numbers and was skeptical of a decrease of that scale at a time when President Donald Trump’s administration has been negotiating with Iran and building up forces in the region.<\/p>\n

The United States has recently sent aircraft including B-2 bombers, warships and air defense systems to reinforce the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Trump said on Monday that he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran’s atomic facilities.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is carrying out a global review of U.S. military troops around the world.<\/p>\n

The U.S. gave Syria a list in March of conditions to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief but the Trump administration has otherwise engaged little with the country’s new rulers.<\/p>\n

According to Ynet, Israel has previously tried to prevent such a decision, but failed. However, Israeli intelligence officials continue to pressure Washington to keep U.S. troops in Syria.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"