A U.S. military delegation arrived in a contested area of northern Syria on Friday following rising tensions between the Syrian government and a Kurdish-led force that controls much of the northeast.
While the world watches Iran and the risk of wider regional confrontation, another crisis is quietly accelerating in Syria, exposing the growing costs of Washington's unresolved Syria policy.
Scores of people have fled to government-held areas in northern Syria. Syrian state TV reported Friday that about 4,000 people had relocated ahead of a possible attack by Syrian troops on Kurdish-led fighters.
The president has repeatedly promised Iranians protesting the Khamenei regime that "help is on the way," although he seemed to double back on his words.