White House: U.S. Shares Israel's Concerns About Iranian Takeover in Syria

The Jerusalem Post reports: WASHINGTON – The Trump administration shares Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s concerns over Iran’s presence in southern Syria, and is working with Israel to prevent it, a White House official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Netanyahu seemed to question that commitment over the weekend in Paris, outlining to reporters his opposition to a ceasefire agreement negotiated among Russia, Jordan and the US holding in southwestern Syria since July 11. Israel fears the agreement grants Tehran de facto freedom of movement in a region close to its border.

It was a rare rebuke of Trump from Netanyahu, who considers the new president a strategic and political ally. “Both governments – the United States and Israel – are rightly concerned about Iran’s malign influence in the region,” a White House official told the Post. “A core goal of US policy in Syria is to ensure that no vacuum is created which Iran can fill.”