Russia Threatens U.S. After Attack on Syrian Warplane

The Russian government on Monday threatened to track coalition aircraft flying in Syrian-controlled airspace as potential targets, the Associated Press reported.

The statement came after the U.S. downed a Syrian warplane in Raqqa province that it said had dropped bombs on U.S.-backed forces in Tabqa.

A Russian defense ministry statement warned that all coalition jets and drones flying west of the Euphrates River would be treated as potential targets and would be tracked with missile systems and military aircraft.

Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the defense and security committee in the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, said that Moscow will be tracking the coalition’s jets, not shooting them down, and added that “a threat for those jets may appear only if they take action that pose[s] a threat to Russian aircraft.”

The defense ministry statement also announced the suspension of a hotline intended to minimize incidents with the U.S. in Syrian airspace. It is the second time in the past three months that Russia has suspended its Syrian air safety agreement with the U.S.

The White House responded on Monday by saying that coalition forces fighting the so-called Islamic State in Syria retained the right to self-defense, Reuters reported. The White House also said it would work to restore the deconfliction hotline with Russia.

SDF Threatens to Attack Syrian Government Forces

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces vowed on Monday to retaliate if pro-government forces continued to attack its positions in Syria’s Raqqa province, Reuters reported.

“The regime’s forces have mounted large-scale attacks using planes, artillery and tanks since June 17,” SDF spokesman Talal Selo said in a statement carried by Reuters.

“If the regime continues attacking our positions in Raqqa province, we will be forced to retaliate … and defend our forces,” Selo said, accusing the government and its allies of trying to obstruct the Raqqa offensive.

Iran Says Syria Missile Strike Is a Wider Warning

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said than an Iranian missile strike on militant positions in eastern Syria on Sunday was intended to serve as a warning to Saudi Arabia and the U.S., the Associated Press reported.

Medium-range missiles fired from the western Iranian provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdestan targeted an ISIS command base in Deir Ezzor on Sunday, killing several militants and destroying weapons and equipment.

“The Saudis and Americans are especially receivers of this message,” Gen. Ramazan Sharif of the IRGC told state television. “Obviously and clearly, some reactionary countries of the region, especially Saudi Arabia, had announced that they are trying to bring insecurity into Iran.”

The strike – which appeared to be Iran’s first missile attack abroad in more than 15 years and its first in the Syrian conflict – came roughly two weeks after ISIS claimed responsibility for the June 7 attacks on Iran’s Parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran that left 17 people dead.

Iran has repeatedly accused Saudi Arabia of supporting ISIS.

Recommended Reads

• The Associated Press: Syria Brings New Urgency to Easing U.S.-Russia Tensions
• The Associated Press: A Look at Syria’s Conflict, as Mutual Enemies Close in on I.S.
• Reuters: By Keeping U.S. Focus on Islamic State, Trump Risks Wider Syria War
• The Atlantic: What Is Putin up to in Syria?
• CNN: Escalation in Syria Was Almost Inevitable