Washington told Damascus it would pull troops from Syria, reduce sanctions if it closed Iran’s supply lines: Report

The US was working with Israel and the United Arab Emirates to make the offer to Assad, according to a report published by The New York Times on Wednesday.

The report provides few details, such as who delivered the messages to Assad and how the US and Israel envisioned the Syrian leader would remove Iran from his country.

Assad relies heavily on Russian air support and Iranian ground forces to remain in power.

Russia and Iran helped Assad wrest back control of much of Syria from rebels, including those backed by Persian Gulf states, roughly a decade ago.

Assad’s tenuous grip on Syria has been seriously threatened since last week when Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebel group based in northwestern Syria, and other militias backed by Turkey called the Syrian National Army launched a surprise offensive.

They swept through Assad’s front lines, taking Syria’s second city of Aleppo, and are now engaged in bitter fighting with Assad’s troops in Hama.

According to the report, the offers to Assad came before the HTS offensive.

The offers included promises of economic aid and plans to reduce US sanctions against Damascus.