After hitting dozens of targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the U.S. said it will conduct further attacks in the future.
After two days of widespread military operations in the Middle East, American officials say the airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen are just the beginning.
The operations came almost a week after a drone attack killed three American soldiers at the Tower 22 base in Jordan and wounded dozens more. On Friday the United States bombed seven sites in Iraq and Syria, using more than 125 munitions. The operations targeted groups linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. said the targeted areas were involved in attacks against American forces. On Saturday the U.S. and British forces hit 36 targets in Yemen, including the capital city of Sana’a, aimed at diminishing the capabilities of the Houthi movement.
Shortly after Friday’s operations, officials including President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued statements saying the strikes on Iraq and Syria were just the first part of a larger response. Biden in particular said U.S. action “will continue at times and places of our choosing.”
Speaking to “Face the Nation” today, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that although the U.S. is not seeking an “open ended military campaign” additional operations in the Middle East are coming.
“[…] what happened on Friday was the beginning, not the end of our response, and that there will be more steps, some seen, some perhaps unseen, all in an effort to send a very clear message that when American forces are attacked, when Americans are killed as three service members, tragically were at Tower 22, we will respond and we will respond forcefully,” Sullivan said.
