Former NATO ambassador on airstrikes in Iraq, Syria: US sent specific message by not targeting Iran

Former NATO ambassador Kurt Volker said the Biden administration sent a concrete message by not targeting Iran with recent airstrikes.

“I think what the administration is trying to do by not attacking Iran is sending a signal to Iran, ‘Don’t attack our homeland, especially in an election year,'” Volker said. Said In a recent interview on “Balance with Leland Wittert,” he said:

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.

“I think what they’re trying to say is… ‘You attack our men overseas, we attack your agents overseas.’ Shut this down, stop this.” Volker continued.

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.”

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper also spoke about the recent airstrikes in an interview with CNN’s Abby Phillip.

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

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the attack was aimed at reducing capabilities and sending a message to Iran and Iranian-backed groups 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.”

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