The Pentagon launched late Tuesday dramatic video footage of the newest U.S. airstrikes on coaching amenities and protected homes that had been utilized by the Iranian navy and its affiliated militias.
The Nov. 12 airstrikes had been the newest U.S. retaliation in opposition to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxy teams. The Pentagon says these teams have launched dozens of rocket and drone assaults in opposition to U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria in current weeks. Such assaults have occurred periodically over the previous few years, however the frequency has elevated dramatically for the reason that militant group Hamas launched its Oct. 7 terrorist assault on Israel.
Iran is Hamas’ chief monetary backer, and the regime in Tehran has brazenly praised the Oct. 7 operation in opposition to Israel.
The Pentagon has warned Iran that assaults on American personnel should cease.
“The president has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned Sunday night in a press release.
The unclassified video footage launched by the Pentagon exhibits two websites in Syria exploding in flames after the airstrikes.
The U.S. in current weeks has surged navy belongings, together with two plane service strike teams, to the Middle East as a present of assist for Israel and as a deterrent in opposition to Iran and its proxies. The string of assaults by Iran-linked militias has wounded no less than 21 U.S. service members and led to 1 American contractor dying from a cardiac incident whereas sheltering in place.
Tensions between the 2 nations at the moment are at their highest level since early 2020, when the U.S. and Iran almost went to struggle after a U.S. airstrike killed high Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The Pentagon has not named the militias focused in Syria, however the teams Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada have been answerable for lots of the assaults in opposition to American forces within the area over the previous few years.
Separately, Iran-backed Houthi rebels working in Yemen have launched rocket assaults in opposition to Israel in current weeks. Houthi rebels final week additionally shot down a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone working in worldwide airspace off the coast of Yemen.
