The Pentagon announced late Friday that the U.S. military struck back against Iran and its proxies in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for last weekend’s drone strike that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan.
The airstrikes began at 4 p.m. ET, two hours after a dignified transfer ceremony honoring the three soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. U.S. troops conducting the operation returned to a safe location within 40 minutes of departure.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters: “A large number of aircraft, including B-1 bombers from the United States, were involved in the operation, which fired more than 125 precision-guided missiles in about 30 minutes. “was fired,” he said.
The operation targeted Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Movement, an umbrella organization for Tehran-backed militias including Kataib Hezbollah, which carried out Sunday’s deadly attack.
The US has also targeted a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which specializes in military intelligence and unconventional warfare, and has been involved in attacks on Tehran since its Iranian subsidiary launched attacks on US forces in November. This is the first time that military action has been taken directly against official forces.
U.S. forces struck seven facilities across Iraq and Syria, including command and control centers, headquarters buildings, intelligence centers, rocket/missile and drone storage facilities, and logistics, ammunition, and supply chain facilities, totaling more than 85 targets. did.
“These targets were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear and irrefutable evidence that they were associated with attacks against U.S. military personnel in the region,” said Douglas Douglas, director of operations for the Joint Staff. Lt. Gen. Sims said.
Military authorities are still assessing the damage caused and the number of terrorists killed, but Sims said he believed the strike was “successful.”
“We feel confident that we have hit targets that will impact our ability to attack Americans in the future.”
Kirby vowed that Friday’s airstrike would not be the last military action the United States would take in retaliation for the deadly attack on American soldiers.
“As President Biden has made clear, we will not hesitate to protect our people and hold accountable all those who harm Americans at the time and place of our choosing. It started with. It won’t end tonight.”
The US attack was preceded by a series of separate explosions carried out by a third party in Syria, after some media initially reported that the explosions were part of a much-anticipated US operation. , causing temporary confusion.
It remains unclear who was behind the initial explosion.
The Department of Defense declined to comment on the matter.
President Biden said in a statement: “Our response began today. It will continue at a time and place of our choosing.” The United States does not want conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But to all those who wish to harm us, please know this. If you harm Americans, we will respond. ”
The United States had promised to hold Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Forces accountable for the attack that killed Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, Special Forces. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, Spc. Breonna Alexandria Moffett, 23, and about 40 other American service members were injured.
With nearly a week to go before the response, critics of the Biden administration have warned that the delay has given Iranian military officials and members of Tehran-backed militias ample time to hide out. .
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement Friday that the attack was “welcomed, but not for the three brave Americans who died and the nearly 50 injured.” It’s too late.” ”
“Instead of giving the Ayatollah the nosebleed he deserves, we continue to slap him on the wrist,” Wicker added. “The Biden administration has spent almost a week foolishly telegraphing America’s intentions to our enemies, giving them time to relocate and hide. It is past time to adopt a new approach that targets
The Wall Street Journal reported On Thursday, Biden called for a “phased” response to begin as early as this weekend, including a multi-day offensive against Iranian personnel and facilities in Syria and Iraq, as well as non-military measures to prevent the conflict from escalating. Acknowledged.
“I don’t think we need a broader war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” Biden told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. “We have a responsibility in the sense that we are supplying these products,” he added.
Tensions between the US and Iranian proxies in the Middle East have been rising since Hamas’ October 7 invasion of Israel, but Barron’s previously reported that the invasion was planned and authorized by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). It was reported that it had been done.
Since October, Iranian militias have launched more than 150 attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, according to Pentagon officials, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have also launched attacks on commercial and warships in the Red Sea. Rockets were fired at both.
The last direct attack on Iranian military officials occurred on January 3, 2020, when former President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike in Iraq to attack Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards militia Quds Force. Killed.
The Iranian government then launched a missile attack on U.S. troops in Iraq, injuring dozens of people, but no military personnel were killed.
