US military cutting 7 of 8 military bases in Syria, top Trump official says
U.S. Special Envoy Thomas Barrack indicated on Monday that the U.S. military is planning to reduce its presence in Syria from eight bases to one base and that President Donald Trump's administration plans to significantly change its policy with the country.
According to Reuters, Barrack was appointed as the special envoy to Syria last month after Trump removed U.S. sanctions against Syria. Following the removal of Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad from power in December, the United States and other countries throughout the world are engaging with the new government under transitional Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, according to the outlet.
Reuters reported that the U.S. military currently has roughly 2,000 troops deployed in Syria, with the majority of the U.S. troops located in the northeastern region of the country. The outlet noted that the U.S. military forces in Syria remain deployed as part of an effort to prevent the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) from retaking the land that the terrorist organization captured in Syria and Iraq in 2014.
READ MORE: US military urges African allies to increase 'burden sharing'
According to Reuters, when asked on Monday about the Trump administration's policy plans with regard to Syria and whether the U.S. military is considering a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, Barrack told Turkish broadcaster NTV, 'What I can assure you is that our current Syria policy will not be close to the Syria policy of the last 100 years, because none of these have worked.'
During Monday's interview, Barrack explained that the Trump administration's change in policy with regard to Syria includes a reduction of U.S. military bases in the country, according to an interview transcript obtained by Reuters. Barrack indicated that the United States is planning to reduce its presence from eight bases in Syria to one base.
Reuters reported that two security sources previously told Reuters in April that the U.S. military had relocated vehicles and equipment from the Deir el-Zor in eastern Syria to Hasakah in northeastern Syria. One of the anonymous security sources told Reuters that the U.S. military's plan to consolidate resources in the Hasakah region of Syria included removing U.S. troops deployed in the Deir el-Zor region.
According to Reuters, an anonymous U.S. State Department official also claimed that the U.S. military's presence in Syria would be reduced 'if and when appropriate' based on various conditions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
27 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump: Iran strike ‘spectacular success'
Politics Trump: Iran strike 'spectacular success' June 22, 2025 | 2:19 AM GMT In an address to the nation, President Donald Trump, speaking from the White House on June 21, said U.S. warplanes had struck three Iranian nuclear facilities.
The Hill
29 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump warns of more attacks; lauds ‘spectacular military success' on Iran nuclear sites
President Trump on Saturday declared U.S. strikes on Iran's key nuclear facilities were a 'spectacular military success,' but warned in an address to the nation that he could order further action if Tehran does not agree to a satisfactory peace agreement. 'Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror,' Trump said in remarks from the Cross Hall at the White House. 'Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.' The president had announced hours earlier on Truth Social that the U.S. had bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. Trump, who was joined by Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his remarks, warned that Saturday's strikes could be the first in a wave of actions against Iran, which has been locked in conflict with Israel for nearly two weeks. Trump delivered his address from the doorway of the East Room, with the grand foyer in the background, the same place former President Obama delivered his address to the nation announcing the killing of Osama Bin Laden. 'This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' Trump said. 'Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.' DEVELOPING
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Attacks Three Main Nuclear Sites in Iran, Widening Conflict
(Bloomberg) — US President Donald Trump said American bombers struck Iran's three main nuclear sites, pulling the US directly into the country's conflict despite his longtime promises to avoid new wars. Bezos Wedding Draws Protests, Soul-Searching Over Tourism in Venice One Architect's Quest to Save Mumbai's Heritage From Disappearing JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads NYC Congestion Toll Cuts Manhattan Gridlock by 25%, RPA Reports Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown Trump said a 'payload of BOMBS' was dropped on Fordow, the uranium-enrichment site buried deep under a mountain and seen as vulnerable only to 'bunker buster' munitions that the US possesses. Natanz and Isfahan, two other sites, were also struck. The president called the operation 'very successful,' adding that the aircraft involved had exited Iranian air space. 'NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' he wrote on Truth Social. Trump addressed the nation at 10 p.m. Washington time at the White House. Israel was notified in advance of the strikes, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the strikes, a senior White House official said. The move marks an extraordinary escalation by the president in the week since Israel began airstrikes across Iran and amounts to the most serious foreign-policy decision of his two terms so far. It goes against the advice of US allies in Europe as well as the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, which has repeatedly warned that nuclear facilities must never be attacked given the potential threat to nuclear safety — not to mention radiation leaks. Sign up for our breaking news alerts, and get the biggest stories from around the world delivered to your inbox as they happen. Iran has said it doesn't want a nuclear bomb, and Trump's own intelligence agencies had assessed recently it still hadn't committed to developing such a weapon. Trump, however, had dismissed those findings and had declined to rule out joining the Israeli strikes, which had also killed several prominent Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists. The US strikes could immediately open American assets in the Middle East to attack since Iran had warned it would retaliate if Trump ordered an attack. Trump's combative language in the last couple of days had also triggered new threats from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and led Iranian officials to call the US Israel's 'partner in crime.' Iran's retaliation could also come in the form of cyber attacks against American or Israeli interests by hackers linked to the regime in Tehran. Earlier Saturday, the State Department said the US had begun evacuating US citizens from Israel. The agency organized two flights to Athens from Tel Aviv with about 70 US citizens, family member and permanent residents, it said. 'I hope that the Iranians are measured in their response but there will be a response — this is an act of war by the United States against a foreign country, which has not attacked us lately,' said Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center. 'Americans are at risk all over the Middle East, all over the world.' Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency reported that authorities in Isfahan confirmed multiple simultaneous explosions in Natanz and Isfahan early Sunday, describing them as 'aggressions' near the two nuclear facilities. Fears of an impending strike had eased after Trump's team said on Thursday he would make a decision within two weeks. On Friday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK had met with Iranian officials Geneva in a bid to prevent a US attack. The continued fighting has evoked fears of a regional conflict that results in massive civilian casualties, and disrupts the flow of energy and other trade through the region. About a fifth of the world's daily oil supply goes through the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbors such as Saudi Arabia. For days, Trump had faced conflicting advice from his supporters, after he campaigned for president on promises to keep the US out of foreign wars, pointing to American involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. MAGA allies including longtime Trump supporter Steve Bannon, have warned against any US intervention, insisting this is Israel's fight to finish. Other Republicans had been urging Trump to join the fight against Iran, arguing that Tehran was more vulnerable after days of air strikes by Israel, and there was an opportunity to deliver on the president's long insistence the regime cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Trump and his advisers had suggested in recent days that any strike would be limited. Trump briefed Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to people familiar with the matter. 'This is not the start of a forever war,' Senator Jim Risch, the Idaho Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on X. 'There will not be American boots on the ground in Iran. This was a precise, limited strike, which was necessary and by all accounts was very successful.' Energy experts have raised concerns that crude flows in the region could be imperiled if Iran and its proxies retaliate in response to a US attack. Fears have focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf that is a key transit point for 26% of the world's oil trade. Houthis have previously disrupted Red Sea shipping, with attacks on ships in the Bab el Mandeb strait forcing vessels to reroute around Africa. A broader attack — including potentially planting naval mines — on the Strait of Hormuz could have even wider consequences, since it's such a vital artery for the region's oil and gas output. What If Iran Tries to Close the Strait of Hormuz?: QuickTake US ally Israel had launched a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, saying the imminent threat of the regime in Tehran securing nuclear weapons had to be neutralized. Iran's military infrastructure was seriously damaged and a number of its top generals and atomic scientists were killed. But Israel lacked the heavy bombs and B-2 stealth jets believed to be required to destroy nuclear sites buried deep underground. Tehran had responded to Israel's strikes by firing waves of ballistic missiles and drones, breaching aerial defenses, striking several cities and causing unprecedented damage. But the number of projectiles launched by Iran dropped markedly after the first few days of the conflict, raising questions about the number of missiles left in its arsenal and its ability to launch them. 'Iran is going to be facing a real dilemma, because they've already been dramatically weakened,' said Dennis Ross, who served as President Bill Clinton's Middle East envoy and is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'They will try to do something to show they didn't just capitulate or submit, but they have their own interest in trying to limit this.' —With assistance from Natalia Drozdiak, Eric Martin, Courtney McBride, Erik Wasson and Steven T. Dennis. (Updates with details of Iranian response, additional background.) Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
