Biden promises more strikes after US attacks Iraq and Syriahttps://en.majalla.com/node/309826/politics/biden-promises-more-strikes-after-us-attacks-iraq-and-syria
Biden promises more strikes after US attacks Iraq and Syria
Centcom said that targets included command and control operations, intelligence centres, rockets and missiles, logistics and munition supply chain facilities
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In response to the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan last week, the US attacked more than 80 targets belonging to Iran-backed proxy groups and Tehran's Revolutionary Guard.
Biden promises more strikes after US attacks Iraq and Syria
US forces have attacked more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in a wide-ranging air assault on sites belonging to Iran-backed proxy groups and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Approximately 80 high-value targets were hit, and US officials promised that it would be the first of a series of attacks.
The US president said in a statement that the strikes had been launched in response to the drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan, adding: “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”
He warned, “If you harm an American, we will respond."
The US military’s Central Command said it had struck with more than 125 bombs in an attack that took place around midnight local time (4 pm ET) in what is being described as the first of multiple attacks against the groups.
High value targets
Centcom said that targets included command and control operations, intelligence centres, rockets and missiles, logistics and munition supply chain facilities.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor – said that 13 militants of a pro-Iran proxy group had been killed in eastern Syria during strikes believed to be carried out by the US.
Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.
Joe Biden, US President
Warplanes destroyed 17 positions on sites housing Iran-backed groups in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province, the Observatory added, three of them targeting al-Mayadeen and one striking Albu Kamal, near the Iraqi border.
According to US officials speaking to CNN, Washington insists there are no plans to strike Iran, even though Biden said that Iran had supplied the weapons to the group responsible for attacking the US base in Jordan.
But while Iran has shown its reluctance to become directly involved in the regional spillover caused by Israel's brutal war on Gaza, this has not stopped it from encouraging its allies in the region to escalate tensions in the region by attacking the US and its allies.
Israel's brutal assault on Gaza has embroiled the region and sparked mass protests worldwide. On their part, Yemen's Al Houthis are blocking maritime global shipping in the Red Sea, which has added an additional element of pressure to Western countries backing Israel.
With the US now fully entering presidential election mode and with Biden campaigning to win a second term in office in November's poll, Iran's involvement in constant acts of provocation is rapidly turning into a major election issue.
US President Joe Biden is briefed on the deadly drone attack at a US outpost in Jordan by members of the national security team in the Situation Room at the White House in Washington, US, 29 January 2024.
Biden needs to appear tough on Iran while also avoiding a full-blown regional war in a careful balancing act. On its part, Iran has warned that a direct strike on Iran would be a red line.
'Strikes are only a start'
Lloyd Austin, the defence secretary, emphasised that further bombing raids were planned. "This is the start of our response," he said and added that "the president has directed additional actions" against Iran's Revolutionary Guard and what it called affiliated militias accountable for their attacks on US and allied forces.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said: "These responses began tonight. They're not going to end tonight. So there will be additional responses. There will be additional action that we will take, all designed to put an end to these attacks and to take away capability by the IRGC."
