Al-Tanf
Al-Tanf is a desert border crossing checkpoint that sits between Syria and Jordan and is a US airbase.
The airstrip itself is on the Jordan side, while virtually all the people who work there live on the Syrian side of the village outpost as uninvited guests. The site was chosen during the Arab Spring as an ideal location for weapons smuggling from American bases throughout the Middle East and Persian Gulf into Syria to de-stabilize the Syrian government.
Syrian war
2011
- 11 March. Reuters reports ‘a large shipment of weapons and explosives and night-vision goggles … in a truck coming from Iraq’ carrying 'dozens of grenades and pistols as well as rifles and ammunition belts’ is seized at al-Waleed (known in Syria as al-Tanf) southern bordering crossing, some 400 west of Baghdad. The Syrian Government News Agency (SANA) said the weapons were intended ‘for use in actions that affect Syria’s internal security and spread unrest and chaos.’ The driver said the weapons had been loaded in Baghdad and he was to be paid $5,000 to deliver them to Syria.[1]
In July 2017 it was reported that the Trump Administration had ended a CIA program to arm "moderate" Syrian rebels, an ineffective program that had been criticized by conservatives. It should be noted that the anti-ISIS faction the Free Syrian Army still receives aid at Al-Tanf, where they have been key in keeping the border crossing with Jorden safe from Islamists, including Hezbollah. [2]
Iran war
In Syria in July 2026, the target by Iran for retaliation to the broken MOU was the U.S. special operations command center at the Al-Tanf military base, located in the Syrian desert, which the United States had claimed to have evacuated in February 2026, but remained active, likely training local forces.
References
- ↑ Syria says seizes weapons smuggled from Iraq, Mar 11, 2011
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Bennett, Jonah (July 19, 2017). Trump Kills Covert CIA Program To Arm Syrian Rebels. The Daily Caller. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- Hayward, John (July 19, 2017). Report: Trump Ending Obama’s Covert CIA Program to Arm and Train Syrian Rebels. Breitbart News. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- Mass, Warren (July 20, 2017). Trump Ends CIA Aid to Anti-Assad Syrian Rebels Linked to ISIS. The New American. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- Walcott, John (July 19, 2017). Trump ends CIA arms support for anti-Assad Syria rebels: U.S. officials. Reuters. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- Syria war: Trump 'ends CIA arms programme for rebels'. BBC. July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- Johnson, Natalie (December 20, 2017). Report: Arms Supplied by the U.S. to Syrian Rebels Often Fell into the Hands of ISIS. The Washington Free Beacon. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
