The Pentagon said Thursday that the message to Iran, which has been funding proxy attacks against U.S. troops, warships and commercial vessels in the Middle East, is that the United States does not seek regional conflict.
When asked by a reporter at a press conference what the Pentagon's message is to Iran, Deputy Defense Press Secretary Sabrina Singh responded:
I think our message was very clear from the beginning. We know that Iran funds, supports, equips and trains these groups. We know that the very groups you just listed are behind all of these groups: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen. So our message is very clear. We don't want regional conflicts. We do not want a regional conflict, and we certainly do not want what is happening in Gaza to spill over into a larger region or broader war.
She said the Pentagon has “repeatedly asked Iran to stop, and we will continue to do so.”
But he added that the United States is “meeting those words with action.”
He referred to recent U.S. attacks on the Houthis, saying they are being supplied with weapons by Iran to attack U.S. and global commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows Houthi forces boarding the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, November 19, 2023. Yemen's Houthis seized the ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen after threatening to seize all Israeli-owned vessels. companies. (Houthi Media Center via AP)
He also noted that a defense operation consisting of U.S. allies and partners is patrolling the region to provide safer passage for commercial ships.
“That's why you've seen the strikes we've had. You saw Operation Prosperity Guardian formed in December,” she said. “This is in direct response to some of the actions that these Iranian-funded militias are taking, which they continue to engage in.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (rear) addresses members of the International Maritime Task Force protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea at the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Manama, Bahrain, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. In response to commercial ships transiting there in the past few weeks, the United States announced a new mission, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to have additional countries send ships and intelligence support. (Tara Kopp/Associated Press)
“We have been very public in our message to Iran and we want these attacks to stop. Not just our troops, just our troops in Iraq and Syria. “We also want them to stop attacks on our forces in the Red Sea and Syria,” she said, “and commercial shipping.”
Despite these US attacks, the Houthis continue to fire missiles at ships in the Red Sea.
In response to another question, Singh said there had been nearly 140 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.
president joe biden Said On January 13, the message to Iran was, “We are fully prepared.”
“We are offering it privately and we are confident that we are well prepared,” he said.
Follow Christina Wong's “X” on Breitbart News. society of truth,or Facebook.
