On Friday, President Joe Biden issued a warning to Iran, stating that the United States would take strong action to protect Americans. The U.S. military conducted airstrikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria.
Later that day, officials reported that Iran-backed forces and U.S. personnel had exchanged strikes, injuring another U.S. service member.
Furthermore, Washington attributed seven casualties on Thursday to a drone of Iranian origin, including the death of an American contractor and the injury of five U.S. troops and another contractor.
On Friday, suspected U.S. rocket fire struck new areas in eastern Syria, according to two local sources, with no reported casualties. Late on Friday, pro-Iranian forces in Syria released an online statement asserting that they possessed a “long arm” to retaliate against any further U.S. strikes on their positions.
The recent violence between the United States and Iran-backed forces in Syria could worsen the already strained relations between the two nations, as efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled. Furthermore, Russia has utilized Iranian drones in its conflict with Ukraine.
During his visit to Canada, President Biden issued a warning that the United States would take strong action to protect its citizens. He stated that the country did not seek conflict with Iran but would be prepared to act forcefully. When reporters asked him whether Iran’s actions should incur a greater cost, Biden replied, “We won’t stop.”
The U.S. military reported that F-15 jets had struck two facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict, claimed that the strikes had resulted in the deaths of eight pro-Iranian fighters. .
DRONE STRIKE
The U.S. strikes were a response to a drone attack earlier on Thursday on a base near Hasakah in northeast Syria operated by a U.S.-led coalition battling the remnants of Islamic State.
Three service members and a contractor required medical evacuation to Iraq, while two wounded American troops were treated at the base. On Friday, the Pentagon said the injured personnel were in stable condition.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared that the defensive system on the base had failed.
The Pentagon said the U.S. military had a complete site picture in terms of radar, though one official reported that troops on the ground did not appear to have had enough time to react to the drone.
Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen and a security source reported that an attack occurred on Friday morning targeting a U.S. base located at the Al-Omar oil field in Syria.
Iranian-backed groups often fire missiles at U.S. bases in Syria in response to air strikes that target them.
U.S. forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration’s campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces. There are about 900 U.S. troops in Syria, most of them in the east.
According to the U.S. military, Iranian-backed groups have attacked U.S. troops approximately 78 times since the beginning of 2021.