President Joe Biden with his senior aides – archive
Middle East
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: “The President has no higher priority than the safety of American personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel and its interests.”
In his options for responding to attacks launched by militias against US bases in the Middle East, US President Joe Biden in recent weeks has rejected options for more aggressive bombing against these militias proposed by the Pentagon for fear of provoking a wider conflict with the ‘Iran.
According to the New York Times, Republican critics in Congress have said that the White House’s limited response has only led to more frequent and more severe attacks against American forces in the region.
The United States carried out a new round of airstrikes against facilities used by Iran and its proxies in eastern Syria late Sunday in response to a series of recent strikes against American forces, Pentagon officials said Sunday. Officials said the attacks likely killed or injured an unknown number of people at the sites.
The airstrikes appear to represent an escalation by the Biden administration, which previously carried out two series of airstrikes that officials said aimed to deter Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the militias it supports in Syria and Iraq. US officials said these attacks caused no casualties.
On Sunday night, Air Force F-15E fighter jets bombed several buildings in Albukamal used for training, logistics and ammunition storage, as well as a shelter in Al-Mayadeen used as command headquarters, officials said. officials.
The attacks came just 4 days after US warplanes targeted an ammunition depot in eastern Syria.
U.S. officials blame Iran and allied militias for what has become a daily barrage of missile and drone attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.
The Pentagon said recent U.S. airstrikes aimed to disrupt the militias’ activities and endanger their members, not just their munitions or buildings.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (AFP archive)
“The President has no higher priority than the safety of American personnel and has directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel and its interests,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement .
Pentagon officials said fewer than a dozen Iranian-backed militia members were present at the struck sites Sunday, and some were likely killed or wounded in the attack. But American analysts were unable to provide more precise estimates of casualties.
The United States has moved its military assets to the Middle East following the surprise attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, in an attempt to prevent a regional war that could drag American forces into a conflict in the region.
An aircraft carrier has been deployed in the eastern Mediterranean near Israel, and another recently left the Red Sea and is sailing towards the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon has also sent dozens of additional warplanes to the Arabian Gulf region, as well as additional Patriot anti-missile batteries and other air defenses in several Gulf countries to protect American forces and bases in the region.
So far, these air defenses have mostly succeeded in eliminating incoming threats to American military personnel, but American military officials say the forces have been fortunate that none of them have been killed as the attacks have escalated.
“It is abundantly clear that Iran and its proxy groups are escalating against American forces in Iraq and Syria, and we have a number of options available to us to defend ourselves,” Dana Stroul, the top official, told the House Pentagon policymaker for the Middle East. of the Representatives.