February 19, 2016
Iran has effectively rejected the ceasefire that Russia and the United States agreed to in Syria.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossain Amir-Abdollahian said any ceasefire agreement in Syria does not apply to areas held by terrorist groups. But the Islamic Republic dubs everyone in Syria opposed to the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad to be a terrorist. So that interpretation means Iran does not accept any ceasefire.
Abdollahian said, “The ceasefire should be implemented nationwide except for areas held by terrorist groups.”
Many analysts have given little hope that the ceasefire would take hold, and Iran’s comments were simply dismissive.
Meanwhile, the White House said the number of fighters that the Islamic State can field has declined by about a quarter since last year. Spokesman Josh Earnest said that US intelligence assesses the Islamic State now has at most 25,000 fighters compared to up to 31,500 last year.
That is partly due to casualties the Islamic State has suffered and partly due to fewer recruits arriving in Syria, he said.
While US air attacks on the Islamic State have worked to stem its advances, Russian air strikes against Syrian rebels opposing Assad have also been effective and Assad’s forces, including units commanded by Iranians, have made major advances in recent weeks.