The United States has carried out airstrikes for the second time in nearly two weeks against a facility used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its proxies in eastern Syria early Thursday. This is in retaliation for a steady stream of rocket and drone attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria.
These strikes were carried out by two Air Force F-15E jets against a weapons warehouse in Deir al Zour Province, Syria. The U.S. had previously conducted airstrikes on Oct. 27 against similar targets in eastern Syria, but this failed to discourage Iran or its proxies in Syria and Iraq. There have been at least 22 more attacks since the American retaliatory strikes last month, with the militias using larger loads of explosives on drones launched at American bases, according to Pentagon officials.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III stated that the precision self-defense strike was in response to attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by I.R.G.C.-Quds Force affiliates. Despite this, he emphasized that the United States is fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect its people and assets, while urging against any escalation.
The strikes also followed the downing of a U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drone over the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Wednesday by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Notably, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas could further escalate due to these events.
Biden administration officials are attempting to deter the Iranian-backed Shiite militias from attacking American troops in the region without sparking a wider conflict. They have criticized the attacks and threats coming from militias aligned with Iran as unacceptable.
There have been at least 41 attacks on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq since Oct. 17, resulting in at least 46 injuries to U.S. service members. The United States maintains 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, mostly to assist local forces in fighting remnants of the Islamic State.
In meetings to select targets, U.S. officials try to anticipate the response each strike will bring. The effort to calibrate retaliation is inexact, but it aims to disrupt and degrade the abilities of the militias to carry out attacks against American troops.
The United States also uses a “deconfliction” line with Russia to manage escalation in Iraq and Syria, sharing information prior to conducting strikes. Some congressional Republicans have criticized the administration’s response, saying that the airstrikes won’t effectively deter Iran from attacking U.S. troops.
Amid these tensions, the U.S. has been shifting military assets to try to prevent a regional war, deploying an aircraft carrier near Israel and additional warplanes to the Persian Gulf region. Despite the heated rhetoric from Tehran, U.S. officials assess that Israel’s adversaries are not seeking a wider war and are trying to avoid actions that would open up a concerted second front with the United States or Israel.
