As the U.S. military hits more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in widespread airstrikes against Iranian-linked militias and Iranian Revolutionary Guards strongholds, Joe Biden says, “If you harm Americans, we will… We will take action,” he warned.
The US president said the airstrikes were launched in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan, adding: “Our response began today. It will continue at a time and place of our choosing.” It will be done.”
US Army Central Command Said More than 125 bombs were dropped in the attack, which occurred around midnight local time, and is believed to be the first of multiple attacks against the group.
“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. The attack targeted facilities believed to be controlled by the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and related militias.
Centcom said targets included command and control operations, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, and logistics and munitions supply chain facilities, but the exact nature of the attack and the cost of damage were not clear.
Initial reports from the ground were limited. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights War Observatory said at least 18 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in eastern Syria in airstrikes believed to be carried out by the United States.
At least 26 major bases of pro-Iranian groups have been destroyed in Syria, including weapons depots, the Observatory said. Military aircraft destroyed 17 sites in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, including three targeting Al-Mayadeen and one in Albu Kamal near the Iraqi border.
Two Iraqi security sources told Agence France-Presse that arms warehouses and command centers belonging to pro-Iranian groups were also targeted along the Syrian border in western Iraq, resulting in at least “some injuries.”
Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said the United States had launched airstrikes in Iraq’s border areas and warned that the attacks could destabilize the region. “These airstrikes are a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead to dire consequences for Iraq and the region.”
A US official told CNN that the US has no plans to bomb Iran, which would represent a significant escalation. Administration officials have repeatedly stressed that the United States has no intention of going to war with Iran, despite accusations that it supplied weapons to the group behind the Tower 22 attack.
Iran has previously warned the United States against direct attacks on Iranian territory and warned of swift and dramatic responses if the United States did so.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed that further bombings were planned. “This is the beginning of our response,” he said, adding that “the president will take additional action” against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and its militias, which are said to be responsible for attacks on U.S. and allied forces. “I gave instructions,” he added.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the attack lasted about 30 minutes. “These responses started tonight. They are not going to end tonight. Therefore, there will also be additional responses. Additional actions aimed at stopping these attacks and disabling the capabilities of the Revolutionary Guards. I plan to take it.”
The 85 targets were categorized into seven different locations, including four in Syria and three in Iraq, U.S. officials said. Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the timing of the attack would be determined by weather.
“Early indications are that a number of secondary explosions related to munitions and logistics locations hit as intended,” Sims said, but this could not be verified.
The United States said Thursday that the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Forces, an Iranian-linked militia, was responsible for last weekend’s deadly drone attack on the Tower 22 logistics base in a remote part of Jordan near the Syria-Iraq border. announced that it was due to Three U.S. Army reservists were killed and more than 80 injured in a nighttime attack on a residential area.
Mr. Biden promised a military response on Tuesday, but on Thursday Mr. Austin said it would be “multi-tiered,” adding: “We’re going to hold those responsible accountable.”
U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 165 times by Iran-linked militias from both countries since October 7, when the Israel-Hamas war began. But on Tuesday, Kataib Hezbollah, the Iranian group that the US suspects was responsible for the Tower 22 attack, announced it had suspended military operations against “occupation forces.”
The government said it wanted to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government, which has publicly complained in the past about U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iran-linked militias, saying they violated its sovereignty.
The airstrike took place Friday night, hours after Mr. Biden attended a solemn military ceremony marking the return of three fallen soldiers at an Air Force base in Delaware. Biden did not speak at the memorial service, but did meet with the families of those who died.
Although the United States is emerging from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rising tensions in the Middle East caused by fighting between Israel and Hamas threaten to draw U.S. forces back into regional conflicts.
