US said developing new Syria strategy focused on pushing out Iran

The United States is formulating a new strategy for the conflict in Syria that would place greater emphasis on ejecting Iranian military forces and Iran-backed proxy groups from the country, NBC News reports.

Though the new strategy would not involve direct military action against Iranian troops and allied groups, the report says the US will use political and diplomatic tools to bleed Iran financially, such as sanctions on Iranian and Russian firms involved in reconstruction efforts in Syria.

An unnamed Trump administration official is quoted in the report saying the new Syria strategy will soon be submitted to Congress. The official says that along with defeating the Islamic State jihadist group, preventing the Assad regime from using chemical weapons and jumpstarting a political transiton, countering Iran’s “malign influence” is one of the White House’s four main goals in Syria.