Iranian proxy terrorists are increasingly targeting Middle Eastern bases that include American military forces, raising the specter of the US being dragged into armed conflict.
US and allied troops have foiled many of the attacks, although others have caused some damage and minor injuries.
Biden administration officials have issued stern warnings against Iran and the terrorist groups it supports over continued provocations, with a top aide vowing Monday, “We will not hesitate to protect our forces.
“We don’t necessarily see that Iran has clearly instructed them to take this kind of attack,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters Monday.
“We have not seen direct orders, for example, from the Supreme Leader saying: ‘Go out and do this,'” he said before adding, “No one wants to see a wider regional conflict, but we will not hesitate to protect our forces .”
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, added, “We know Iran’s goal is to maintain some level of denial here.
“But we will not allow them to do that. Nor will we allow any threat to our interests in the region to go unchallenged.
Iran uses money, weapons and logistical support to support radical terrorist groups across the Middle East to oppose its regional rival Saudi Arabia and fight enemies Israel and the United States. Its proxies include:
- Lebanon’s Hezbollah: The “Party of God” was founded in 1982, its name chosen by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, with 1,500 Revolutionary Guards sent to train its fighters. The group has become a “shadow state” inside Lebanon, and was used by Iran to attack Israel and support Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War. Since the Hamas attack, Hezbollah has fired rockets into Israel, and Iran has threatened to launch a full-scale offensive in the north if Israel attacks Gaza.
- Gaza’s Hamas: The “Islamic Resistance Movement” was established in 1987 and has close ties to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. It controls Gaza and exercises influence in the West Bank. Despite religious differences with Iran, the group shares the goal of eliminating Israel. Intelligence shows Iran knew of and supported Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel.
- West Bank Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Sometimes an ally and sometimes a rival of Hamas, it also receives funding and weapons from Iran and seeks to overthrow Israel. Over the weekend, Israeli airstrikes hit command centers used by Hamas and PIJ in the West Bank — a sign that the West Bank could be used to attack Israel as it commits troops to Gaza.
- Spies in Jordan: King Abdullah II of Jordan has friendly relations with the US, which Iran is trying to disrupt. The country’s government was nearly overthrown by the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1970s and fears that Iran was funding anti-government terrorists in the country.
- Syria’s Assad: Syria has been Iran’s closest ally since the two countries allied against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. During the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Iran helped keep President Bashar al-Assad (inset) in power by providing him with technical and personnel support. Since the Hamas attack, Syria has claimed that Israel has dropped bombs on an airport in Syria, likely to disrupt the flow of Iranian supplies and weapons. Syria fires artillery into Israeli territory. Meanwhile, drone strikes by Iran-backed groups injured US troops at the Al-Tanf base. While Assad may not go so far as to declare war on Israel, he is happy that Iran is using his country to provide support to Hezbollah and Hamas.
- Yemen’s Houthis: Islamic rebels who want to overthrow the Yemeni government (left). Their slogan is “God is great, death to the US, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory for Islam.” It became a proxy war for Iran, which supports the rebels, and Saudi Arabia, which supports the current president, Rashad al-Alimi. Last week, the Houthis fired nine cruise missiles and 15 drones at Israel in a nine-hour period. They were shot down by the USS Carney, a destroyer the US had sent to the Red Sea.
- Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah: Iran supports several groups in neighboring Iraq, and since the fall of Saddam Hussein has pushed for a Shia-backed government. But Hezbollah’s Kataib, the “Brigade of the Party of God,” is perhaps the most dangerous. It has carried out several attacks on the US military. General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was advising the group when he was killed by a US strike in 2020. Since the Hamas attack, drones and rockets from Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups have been fired at Ain. al-Asad air base used by the US.
- Al-Ashtar Bahraini Brigade: A Shia group that seeks to overthrow the Bahraini monarchy, with the support of Iran.
“We know Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases actively facilitating these attacks,” he said.
This photo shows military exercises involving electronic warfare units and featuring military equipment designed and manufactured in Iran at an undisclosed location.ZUMAPRESS.com
Over the past week alone, there have been about half a dozen publicly confirmed clashes between Iranian proxies and US forces.
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The surge in attacks on American personnel in the Middle East appears to have been fueled by the war raging in Israel in response to Hamas’s bloody October 7 surprise attack on the Jewish state.
And a senior Pentagon official on Monday said there was still an increase in attacks on American forces in the region.
“We see the prospect of a more significant escalation of US troops and personnel in the near future,” a defense official explained at a background briefing, according to Fox News.
“And let’s be clear about it: the road leads back to Iran,” the official said.
Syrian drone strike Oct. 23
On Monday, the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took credit for an attack involving two drones against the al-Tanf garrison in the Syrian region often used by terrorists to distribute weapons.
The drone was intercepted by the military at a US base, and no one was injured, according to Ryder.
The US is believed to currently have around 900 military bases in Syria. Al-Tanf is located near Syria’s borders with Iraq and Jordan.
Iraqi rocket and drone attacks 21 – 22 Oct
Ain al-Asad air base is located in the Anbar desert of western Iraq.AP
On Sunday, Katyusha rockets hit the Ain al-Asad air base where US and international troops are stationed, Reuters reported.
A day earlier, the al-Asad airbase’s defense system shot down two drones flying near the base, according to Reuters.
The US has at least 2,500 personal stations in Iraq.
Missiles near Yemen 19 Oct
The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer operating near the northern part of the Red Sea, shot down several missiles believed to have been launched by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Officials said they were unsure of the intended target of the attack, but the military decided to shoot down the rocket after determining it posed a potential threat.
The incident lasted nearly nine hours and involved four cruise missiles and 15 drones, CNN reported.
Syrian drone strike Oct. 18
On Thursday, a pair of drones believed to be from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted the al-Tanf garrison.
In the incident, one of the drones was destroyed, and another caused minor injuries at the base, according to US officials.
A separate drone strike also took place in eastern Syria near Deir al-Zor province and targeted the Conoco gas field, according to Syrian opposition activists.
American troops are stationed at the oil facility.
Iraqi drone strikes Oct. 17-18
A US military vehicle is seen at the al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq.REUTERS
On October 18, the US Central Command confirmed that in the space of 24 hours, the US military prevented three drone attacks in Iraq.
The first involved a pair of drones targeting al-Asad’s base. One of the drones was intercepted, while the other exploded, causing several minor injuries, Reuters reported.
Medical personnel also evaluated several service members for possible traumatic brain injuries.
A contractor suffered a heart attack while scrambling for shelter, then died as a result.
Later in northern Iraq, a drone attacked the al-Harir air base, but the device ended up falling in a desert area not far from the base.
President Biden has confirmed US support for Israel as it fights Hamas.REUTERS
President Biden has sought to prevent Iran from exploiting the conflict in Israel.
“Iran supports Russia in Ukraine, and it supports Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region,” Biden declared during his inaugural address Thursday. ‘We will continue to hold them accountable, I might add.”
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Meanwhile, Iraq’s prime minister has ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators behind the attack on US personnel.
“Attacks targeting Iraqi bases housing advisers from the international coalition in Iraq are unacceptable. They are here at the invitation of the government,” said a spokesperson.
Iran has long funded terrorist activities in the Middle East, US officials say.ZUMAPRESS.com
US intelligence officials believe there are “flashing red lights everywhere” that Iran-backed militias in the region are planning to further increase their attacks on American forces in the Middle East, CNN reported.
Some politicians such as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have argued that the US should threaten war with Iran if Tehran escalates the conflict in Israel.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
