TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, saying the U.S. military presence in the Middle East fuels insecurity in the region.

“Basically, U.S. forces’ arrival and presence in the region was a wrong, illogical, tension-provoking and crisis-inducing move from the outset, and has always been one of the key contributors to instability and insecurity in the region,” said Qassemi, the Foreign Ministry website reported on Saturday.

“A careful study of the history of the regional developments in recent decades until now shows that the presence of foreign elements in this important and sensitive region under different pretexts has only resulted in tension and intensification of divisions,” he said.

Trump on Wednesday announced that U.S. troops had defeated the Daesh terrorists in Syria and he sought to pull some 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria.

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” Trump tweeted.

Trump’s decision was met with a major backlash in America, leading to the resignation of his military chief James Mattis.

The U.S. president defended his move, saying, “Getting out of Syria was no surprise.”

“I’ve been campaigning on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it, I agreed to stay longer. Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there work. Time to come home & rebuild,” he tweeted on Thursday.

MH/PA