Al-Tanf base in southern Syria, where US forces are stationed
On October 27, the US military conducted airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in retaliation for attacks on US bases in the region.
According to AP, the US airstrikes demonstrate the determination of President Joe Biden's administration to maintain a delicate balance. Details about the targets and related information are unclear.
The US wants to strike as hard as possible against Iranian-backed groups suspected of targeting the US to prevent the risk of a repeat of such actions, while trying to avoid raising tensions in the region and provoking a wider conflict.
According to the Pentagon, there have been at least 19 attacks on US bases and personnel in Iraq and Syria since October 17. US Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said 21 US personnel were injured in two drone attacks on al-Asad base in Iraq and al-Tanf base in Syria.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the "defensive strikes were a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks on US service members in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17."
President Biden ordered the narrowly tailored strikes “to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel and its interests,” he said.
Secretary Austin made clear that the operation was not related to the Hamas-Israel conflict.
US - Iran warn each other
In a related development, President Biden sent a message to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning of attacks on US troops in the Middle East.
At a press conference on October 25, Mr. Biden said he had warned Mr. Khamenei that he would respond if the attacks continued, according to AFP.
“My warning to him is if they continue to attack those soldiers, we will respond and he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with Israel,” President Biden said.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations, Iran warned the US about Israel's air and artillery campaign against the Gaza Strip.
"I tell the US politicians and military forces that are currently administering the genocide in Palestine that we do not welcome the expansion and scale of the war in the region. But I warn that if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not escape that fire," said Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
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