The United States has launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq after three US soldiers were killed and over 40 were wounded by militias in Jordan.
The strikes hit seven sites according to the US Defense Department in what is being reported as a “sharp escalation” in the regional conflict.
A follow-up report disclosed that 85 targets were hit by 125 bombs in a thirty-minute timespan as ordered by President Joe Biden. The US Central Command claims the targets were members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated groups. The sites targeted in the airstrikes reportedly included “command and control operations, centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aired vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities.”
CENTCOM Statement on U.S. Stikes in Iraq and Syria
At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces… pic.twitter.com/q9gFDxppmo
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 2, 2024
This is the start of what will likely be a series of payback strikes against Iran-affiliated militias. The US claims Iran is responsible for funding and arming the terrorists that carried out the attack near the Jordan border, but Iran denies involvement.
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American officials have implied that these strikes will be more extreme than previous attacks on Iranian proxies in the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that the American response will be “multi-tiered.” “We have the ability to respond a number of times, depending on what the situation is,” Austin said. “They have a lot of capability. I have a lot more.”
While several members of Congress have called for a direct strike on Iran, the Biden administration claims it will not pursue such a strategy. “We don’t seek a war with Iran. We’re not looking for a wider conflict in the Middle East,” National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told CNN on Monday.
At the time of the attack in Jordan, President Joe Biden vowed there would be retaliation and multiple American officials called for direct military action against the Iranian government. It marked the 159th attack launched against American forces in the Middle East since mid-October in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, but it is notably the first to claim lives.
“On Jan. 28, three U.S. service members were killed and 25 injured from a one-way attack [Unmanned Aircraft System] that impacted at a base in northeast Jordan, near the Syria border,” read a statement from US Central Command. The attack, reportedly conducted via an explosive “suicide drone,” struck the logistics support base located at Tower 22 of the Jordanian Defense Network early Sunday morning local time (late on Saturday Eastern time). The number of wounded rose to at least 40 in follow-up statements.
In a separate statement, President Biden revealed that the drone strike had been linked to “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.”
“Have no doubt — we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing,” the president vowed.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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