The conflict is expanding!!!
Or it might be something apart
On October 27th, at 4:30, Syrian time, US airforce struck two Iranian military bases in Syria. The airstrikes were carried out in response to attacks by Iranian backed groups on US bases in Iraq and Syria, which have injured 21 members of US military personnel.
The strikes were carried out by a pair of F-16 fighter jets using precision-guided munitions. They targeted weapons and ammunition storage facilities in Abu Kamal, in the Syrian-Iraqi border. They were used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to store munitions used in those attacks, and they were chosen because of that.
Iran and its proxies have attacked US bases in Iraq and Syria since October 17th, killing one US civilian contractor and injuring some others. The contractor died due a heart attack. Iran has been using drones and rockets. Tehran has threatened to target US forces in the Middle East if Washington DC supports Israel in Gaza. Last week, the USS Carney shot down missiles supposedly against Israel from Yemen. There have been at least 12 attacks in Iraq and 4 in Syria since the latest conflict between Israel and Gaza began.
Iranian top diplomat, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, threatened the US at the UN.
“I say frankly to the American statesmen... that we do not welcome expansion of the war in the region. But I warn, if the genocide in Gaza continues, the US will not be spared from this fire”.
Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, stated that the US seeks no conflict with Iran. However, those attacks must stop.
“The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unnaceptable and must stop”, he stated.
The Secretary of Defense described the strikes as self-defense and ordered by President Biden. He adds that the attacks are independent from the situation in Gaza. The US aims to avoid escalation in the Middle East with these airstrikes.
Those strikes are enough to give a message to Iran and its proxies, but not strong enough to escalate.
The increase in US-Iran tensions comes in the midst of a renewal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, back on October 7th. Iran has been called the “center of gravity” for attacks on US forces. The US deployed on Thursday 900 troops to the Middle East. There are high probabilities it will deploy more. Washington DC has also moved two carrier strike groups to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as amphibious ready groups to Israeli coasts. There is a concern that Hezbollah could use against Israel the same tactics the Iranian proxies have used against US troops
President Biden has threatened the Ayatollahs.
“My warning to the ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with Israel”.
It has been reported that Iranian backed groups responded in Eastern Syria attacking a US base there.
The situation is expected to develop depending on how the Israeli-Hamas conflict unfolds. The US response to that conflict will also determine how this confrontation with Iran proxys will continue.
Guillermo is a journalist, writer and independent international analyst. If you like what you read, please support him by donating:
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