U.S. Launches Retaliatory Strikes Against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria

By Sundance

This could be the beginning of World War III, or just another step in the general direction. According to the Pentagon, the U.S. just launched airstrikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria.

PENTAGON – Today, at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted self-defense strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17.

As a result of these attacks, one U.S. citizen contractor died from a cardiac incident while sheltering in place; 21 U.S. personnel suffered from minor injuries, but all have since returned to duty. The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.

The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against U.S. forces are unacceptable and must stop. Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people.

These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict. We continue to urge all state and non-state entities not to take action that would escalate into a broader regional conflict. (link)

(Via CNN) – […] Earlier Thursday, the US announced it is deploying about 900 troops to the Middle East – with the potential for many more. The US has also moved two carrier strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and an amphibious ready group closer to Israel in the waters of the Middle East.

The US strikes follow a growing number of attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17. As of Thursday afternoon, US forces had come under attack at least 12 separate times in Iraq and four separate times in Syria, resulting in 21 US service members suffering injuries. The Pentagon said the injuries were all minor and that the troops have returned to duty. One US civilian contractor suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of a false alarm at one of the bases in Iraq.

On Wednesday, Biden issued a strong warning to Iran about its proxies attacking US forces in the region. “My warning to the ayatollah was that if they continued to move against those troops, we will respond, and they should be prepared.” Biden also said the presence of US troops in Iraq and Syria is focused on the campaign to defeat ISIS and is not related to the ongoing conflict in Israel.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian did not attempt to tamp down the tensions Thursday at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly, stating that the US “will not be spared from this fire” if the war in Gaza doesn’t end. Earlier this week, the minister had said that Iran had received two messages from the US, though he would not say how or when the messages were delivered. The first message said the US was not interested in a wider expansion of the conflict, he said, while the second urged Iran and its partners to have self-restraint. (read more)