US President Joe Biden announces the launch of a military operation in the Middle East in response to a militant attack on a US base in Jordan.
The American leader noted that last Sunday, these American soldiers were killed in Jordan by “a drone launched by militant groups backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
Earlier today (Friday – ed.) I attended the dignified return (of the bodies – ed.) of these brave Americans at Dover Air Force Base, and I spoke with each of their families,” he said.
Biden said that on his instructions, the US military had struck targets in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and its affiliated militants “use to attack US troops.”
Our response began today. This will continue at times and places of our choosing,” the US president said in a statement.
At the same time, Biden added that the United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East “or anywhere else in the world.”
But let all those who can harm us know that if you harm an American, we will respond,” he emphasized.
What is known about the US air strikes in response to the strike on the base in Jordan
On January 28, the US military base Tower 22 in Jordan was attacked by drones. According to the Pentagon, more than 40 U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack, and three more were killed.
The US Department of Defense noted that, according to preliminary data, the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah group was involved in the attack.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin threatened to retaliate for the attack “in a convenient place, at a convenient time.” And US President Joe Biden said that Iran was responsible for the attack. The American leader noted that he had already decided on retaliatory measures.
On the evening of February 2, it became known that Iranian facilities in Syria were attacked by US forces from the air. The U.S. Central Command of the Air Force announced that it had launched air strikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and related militias – more than 85 targets.
The US military added that the targets included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, missile and unmanned aerial vehicle storage facilities, and militia and IRGC logistics and munitions supply chain facilities that “facilitated attacks on US and coalition forces.”
