National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan teased that the Biden administration plans to launch additional counterattacks against Iranian proxy targets.
Last week, the US launched two separate rounds of strikes on Iranian proxy targets in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen following last month’s killing of three soldiers in Jordan by drone strikes.
“The president has been very clear from the beginning,” Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “When the American military is attacked, we will respond and we have responded several times.”
“We intend to conduct additional strikes and additional actions to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our military is attacked.”
Sullivan revealed that the military is still assessing the number of casualties from the attacks on Friday and Saturday.
“We believe that the attack had a good effect in lowering the ability of this militia group to attack us,” he said.
Jake Sullivan defends the Biden administration’s response to the drone strike in Jordan. NBC / Meet The Press
Sullivan declined to release any figures on civilian or military casualties from the two sets of counterattacks carried out late last week.
“What we do know is that the targets we hit were completely legitimate targets from the point of view of containing weapons and personnel that attacked American forces,” he said.
On Friday, the US struck more than 85 targets at seven outposts in Iraq and Syria with more than 125 precision-guided missiles, according to national security officials.
Members of an Iraqi Shiite militant group attend a funeral ceremony for members of the group killed by a US airstrike in Baghdad. AP
The attacks hit the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed umbrella group, which the US blames for a deadly drone strike that killed three US soldiers and injured 40 at the Tower 22 military base in Jordan last month.
The attack began just hours after the end of a dignified evacuation ceremony honoring the three soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Then, on Saturday, the US and the United Kingdom blew up 36 Houthi targets in Yemen.
All of the attacks were aimed at degrading the Iranian proxy group’s military capabilities, according to military officials.
Between Oct. 7 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and drone strikes in Jordan, there were more than 158 attacks on US and allied assets in the region, according to the Pentagon.
Members of the Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces clear rubble after a US airstrike in al-Qaim, Iraq. AP
When asked if the administration was prepared for a counterattack, Sullivan insisted that “we are prepared to deal with anything that any group or any country tries to attack us with.”
President Biden has faced heightened criticism from some Republicans such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for waiting nearly a week before launching a counterattack.
“I think it’s a little strange,” Sullivan said, recalling how Biden had previously explained that before the Jordanian drone strike, the US would respond.
President Biden attended a dignified transfer ceremony for three soldiers killed in Jordan last month. Reuters
“Of course, there will always be armchair quarterbacks but we’re confident in the steps we’ve taken so far.”
Sullivan also refused to rule out directly attacking Iran.
“Sitting here on television, it would be unwise for me to talk about what we decided and rejected.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
