Syria's defense minister on Monday slammed what he called the "illegitimate" U.S. military presence in his country, vowing that Damascus has a right to self-defense, while Iraq said a border crossing with Syria will open in the coming days. "The Americans will leave Syria as they left other places, because this is an illegitimate presence and is rejected no matter what the justifications are," Ayoub said. He added that Iranian troops had been invited by Syrian authorities and would only leave when asked by the Syrians. Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Bagheri as saying that Iran, Syria and Iraq will work together to bring end to the presence of foreign forces in Syria. The Iraqi army commander, Gen. Osman Ghanemi, did not give further details about the border crossing between Syria and Iraq, saying only that it is open in the coming days.

Source: ABC News March 18, 2019 13:30 UTC