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A White House spokesman said Thursday that Iran must stop supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and attacking shipping in the Gulf.
He also said that Iran, the Revolutionary Guards and their agents must stop attacking American soldiers in Iraq and Syria, Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath correspondent in Washington reported.
Today, Iraqi armed factions announced the implementation of three “separate operations” against the Ain al-Assad base, where American forces are based, in western Iraq.
The factions also claimed responsibility for targeting the Harir base, where American forces are also stationed, in Erbil, northern Iraq.
An escalation of attacks
US forces in Iraq and Syria have faced an escalation of attacks since mid-October, with Washington blaming them on Iranian-backed factions.
American forces and international coalition forces have been attacked 40 times in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed forces since early October.
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But Iran has denied involvement in the attacks. Tehran’s ambassador to the United States, Amir Saeed Erawani, said Thursday that separatist groups were responding to the Israeli attack that killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
“It’s a natural reaction by the resistance groups. It’s their choice and their direction,” Irawani said in an interview with CNN.
However, the White House rejected the ambassador’s assumptions. “We know that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is directly involved in helping these groups make some of the decisions that they are making,” spokesman John Kirby said.
About 2,500 American soldiers are deployed in Iraq, providing advising missions to their Iraqi counterparts in the fight against ISIS, while about 900 American soldiers are deployed in Syria.
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