The United States said it carried out a series of bombings on Sunday (27) against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, in response to drone attacks carried out in recent months by these groups against the forces. Americans in the region.
“As tonight’s attacks show, President Biden has made it clear that he will act to protect US personnel,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
There are no details of the destruction caused by the attacks or whether there are any casualties. The US armed forces said they hit targets in two locations in Syria and one in Iraq, and that they were operational bases and weapons depots of militias such as Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
This is the second time Joe Biden has authorized the use of force in the Middle East since joining the White House. On the previous occasion, in February, the US leader ordered attacks in Syria in response to rocket fire in Iraq against US forces.
This time, the US government says Sunday’s bombing comes after Iranian-backed militias carried out drone-laden attacks on US bases in Iraq.
According to the New York Times, there have been at least five occasions when US forces have suffered attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles since April.
Tehran supports militias in the region and has sought to mobilize them to pressure the United States in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and US sanctions.
In January of last year, the administration of former President Donald Trump assassinated Iranian General Qassem Suleimani by bombing Iraq. The senior military official was responsible for coordinating the Iranian regime’s support for militias in the region, and his death further undermined diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington.
Iran held presidential elections on the 18th and elected ultra-conservative judge Ebrahim Raisi, linked to the hard line of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime. Raisi will replace moderate Hassan Rouhani amid the worsening economic crisis in Iran.