The information about the Iranian withdrawal was reported after the announcement by the American network CBS News that plans had been approved by the United States for “a series of strikes over several days against various targets.” These include “Iranian personnel and facilities, inside Iraq and Syria,” CBS specifies. The withdrawal of Iranian officers is therefore a precautionary measure.

It comes two days after an announcement by an Iraqi group close to Iran of the suspension of its attacks on American targets. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards deploy hundreds of men in Syria at the request of Damascus under the label of “advisors.” They are responsible for the training and supervision of thousands of predominantly Shiite militias, recruited locally or transported from Iraq and Afghanistan, to fight alongside the Syrian army.