At least 18 people were killed by pro-Iranian fighters in attacks in eastern Syria on Friday. The response comes after three American soldiers died in Jordan.
The United States launched strikes targeting elite Iranian forces and pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria in response to a drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers on Sunday.
Here's what we know at this point:
Hit Iranian targets, but not Iran
US warplanes hit a total of 85 targets in seven different locations – three in Iraq and four in Syria – in what the White House called a “success”. US forces have targeted the Iranian regime's ideological army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its elite unit, its Quds Force, and pro-Iranian armed groups.
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Centcom (US Middle East Military Command) said the 85 sites include command and intelligence centers and drone and missile storage infrastructure owned by militants and Iranian forces. “Executive of attacks against US and coalition forces.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said at least 18 pro-Iranian fighters were killed in the attacks in eastern Syria.
Baghdad A “Violation of Iraqi Sovereignty”When America said “I warned the Iraqi government before the strikes”.
Joe Biden has not ordered strikes on Iran, as some Republican opponents have demanded. The Democratic president did not target Iranian officials as his predecessor Donald Trump did by killing Qassem Soleimani, the former architect of Iranian military operations in the Middle East, in a January 2020 strike in Baghdad.
The US President said on Friday “America does not want conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world” And the White House reiterated its unwillingness after the strikes “War” They have not maintained diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980.
What is America's response?
Joe Biden, campaigning for a second term, vowed to respond to the deaths of three U.S. soldiers killed in a drone strike Sunday in Jordan, near the Syrian border, where 350 troops are stationed as part of the fight against the Islamic State group. Their bodies were brought to their hometown on Friday.
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The United States pointed against Iraqi armed groups supported by Iran.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have suffered at least 165 drone strikes or rocket attacks since mid-October, an official says, but Sunday was the first time US soldiers have lost their lives.
How did we get here?
Regional tensions continue to rise after a bloody attack by Iran-backed Hamas against Israel, followed by incessant Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
For nearly four months, the United States has been trying through its diplomacy and its military presence in the region to prevent the conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Islamist movement from spilling over into Lebanon, and between Iran-backed Israel and Hezbollah.
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But Washington, backed by London, has embarked on military operations since Oct. 7 against pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen who carry out attacks against merchant or military ships in the Red Sea.
Now?
Joe Biden warned “retaliation” America was “Started Today” and that'“It will continue as per schedule and venues” That Washington “Conclusion (a)”.
“We do not want to see another attack in the region against US positions or troops», the National Security Council of the White House has warned.
Many experts in Washington believe that Iran will not risk a direct confrontation with the world's leading power, but it has strengthened itself after the war in Gaza and gained support for Hamas by mobilizing more support in the Arab world.
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