U.S. Looks to Syria to Better Relations with Iran in Middle East

Over the past year, Iran has  ignored three U.N. Security Council resolutions requesting that it stop enriching Uranium. Therefore, the U.S. has taken a new route in terms of its relations with Iran. The United States plans to improve its relations with Syria and in turn weaken the Syria Iranian relationship.

The Obama administration took steps within the past two weeks to ease tensions between the U.S. and Syria. Last Wednesday, Feb. 17, U.S. envoy William Burns met with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the discussion centered on steps to be taken to improve U.S.-Syrian relations. A few days before, President Obama announced his plan to nominate Robert Ford as the first U.S. ambassador to Syria since 2005.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Syrian officials acknowledged that the visit of the U.S. envoy was a sign that Washington was ready to improve relations with Syria. Normalizing diplomatic relations with Syria is only the first step to bringing Syria into the U.S.’s corner. Many more complicated issues, specifically that of Golan Heights, will have to be worked out in order to gain Syria’s full support of the U.S.’s attempt to bring peace to the Middle East, according to the BBC.

The U.S. has had strained relations with Syria because of its support of Israel since 1948 (when Israel became a nation-state), according to BBC. The U.S. has given Israel a constant stream of monetary aid and weapons support. Syria and Israel have had strained relations since the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel took control of the region of Golan Heights. In 1981, Israel tightened its hold over Golan by extending Israeli law to Golan Heights. With the U.S.’s unwavering support for Israel, U.S.-Syrian relations have remained stagnant. As a result, Syria continues to support groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, categorized by the United States as terrorist organizations. The bigger problem for the United States is Syria’s constant support for Iran.

Syria’s importance in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is rarely a topic of public discussion. Nevertheless, a placated Syria could play a pivotal role in bringing peace to the Middle East. Yet analysts argue that it would require Israel and the United States to make some changes. Israel would have to normalize relations with Syria by letting go of control of Golan Heights. But Israel claims the retention of Golan Heights is necessary for national security, according to The Wall Street Journal. This may be possible through Turkish mediation. Some analysts argue the United States would have to impose stipulations on its aid to Israel in order to coax Israel to give up Golan Heights.

This may loosen Syria’s ties with a soon-to-be nuclear Iran. At the moment, Syria does not have normalized relations with the U.S., a nuclear power, and has strained relations with Israel, a nuclear neighbor.