US to withdraw troops from Syria as tensions mount with Iran

The US is preparing to largely withdraw its remaining troops from Syria over the next few months, a senior White House official has told the BBC.

The official said the Syrian government has agreed to take the lead combatting terrorism within its borders and US military presence "at scale" is no longer required.

American troops have been in Syria since 2015, as part of an anti-terrorism campaign to counter the influence of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The decision came as US President Donald Trump ramps up military presence in the Middle East as tensions mount with Iran.

The official noted that the decision to remove the roughly 1,000 remaining troops from Syria is part of a conditions-based transition, and that the US remains ready to respond to any threats in the region.

The news - first reported by the Wall Street Journal - comes amid an increased presence of US troops in the Middle East, specifically near Iran.

BBC Verify has confirmed the location of US aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln - equipped with guided missile destroyers and dozens of fighter jets - near Iran.

The US has also reportedly sent the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest warship, to the Middle East, expected to arrive in the region within the next three weeks.

Senior national security officials told the BBC's media partner CBS News that Trump said the US military would be ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, though Trump has not yet made a final decision.

In Syria, US troops had already departed two bases earlier this year, the al Tanf garrison in southern Syria and the al Shaddadi base in the northeast.

The movements follow the collapse of the Assad government in 2024, and a weakened Islamic State amid considerable security improvement in Syria.

Since then, the Trump administration has sought to strengthen its diplomatic ties with Damascus and increase its partnership with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Sharaa visited Trump in the White House in November, the first such visit from a Syrian leader in the country's history.

The Syrian leader's government has at times clashed with local military groups but struck a deal in January that would integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with Syria's armed forces.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Syrian counterpart, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, last week, to discuss maintaining the ceasefire. Rubio also expressed his concerns about the continued fight against terrorism.

In December, a translator and two members of the Iowa National Guard were killed in an ambush attack by a lone ISIS gunman, the Pentagon said.

The Trump administration launched a series of attacks against ISIS in response, called Operation Hawkeye Strike.

The BBC's Bernd Debusmann contributed to this report.