Former Defense secretary: ‘What matters now’ are results of US airstrikes in Iraq, Syria

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper spoke with CNN’s Abby Phillippe about recent US attacks in Iraq and Syria in a recent interview.

“I was happy to see the statement from U.S. Central Command saying they attacked Quds Force positions,” Esper said. Said In “The Lead”.

The United States on Friday launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for recent attacks on Jordanian bases that killed three American service members.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Friday night that it had begun airstrikes against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and its affiliated militias in Iraq and Syria.

“The U.S. military attacked more than 85 targets with numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers from the United States,” Centcom said in a statement. “More than 125 precision munitions were used in the airstrike.”

Esper said “what matters now” is what the outcome of the strike will be.

“Tomorrow morning, when it’s their time, we’ll do a better combat damage assessment,” Esper continued. “When the sun sets, we will know what happened and how Iran and its militias will respond.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the attack was aimed at reducing Iran’s capabilities and sending a message to Iran and its supporters to stop attacking Americans.

“We think these goals fit that criteria,” he said. “And the goal here is to deter these attacks. We don’t want a war with Iran.”

An Iraqi government spokesperson accused the United States of violating international law and not telling the truth about the circumstances surrounding the retaliatory attack.

“Subsequently, the American side deliberately deceived and fabricated facts by announcing advance arrangements to carry out this invasion. This misled international public opinion and, in accordance with all international law, this rejected It is a false allegation aimed at denying legal responsibility for the crime,” Bassem Al said. – Iraqi government spokesperson Awadi said in a post on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday.