Iran Joins Russia in Denouncing U.S. Strike on Syria, but Stops There
Trump abandoned that they had a clear — and desperate — motive to use them, given that the tragedy in Khan Sheikhoun took place only day
By THOMAS ERDBRINKAPRIL 10, 2017
TEHRAN — The punitive American missile strike on Syria for the chemical weapons attack a week ago brought Syria’s most important backers, Russia
and Iran, publicly closer together — whether the Iranians want to be or not.
And like Russia, they suggested that terrorist groups — as they call Mr. Assad’s opponents
— had used chemical weapons on their own people to provoke a strike by the United States.
But Iranian political analysts knowledgeable about government thinking are also interpreting the missile strike as
only a symbolic show of force by Mr. Trump, who often portrayed President Barack Obama as indecisive on Syria.
Iranian political analysts say there has been no sign
that Iran is prepared to take one key step on Syria: granting Russia’s air force full access to Iranian air bases.
It is impossible to know what Iranian leaders really think about who was responsible for the deadly chemical weapons assault last
Tuesday in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, which the United States says was carried out by Syrian warplanes.
Acting on Mr. Trump’s orders, American warships launched Tomahawk missiles
that struck the Al Shayrat airfield, where the warplanes were based — the first direct attack on Mr. Assad’s forces by the United States since the war began.