Breaking: US Bombs Iranian Proxy Forces in Syria Hours After Iranian Foreign Minister Threatens US on US Soil in United Nations Speech
In a dramatic move, the United States has bombed Iranian-backed forces in Syria, just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif threatened the US on US soil during a speech at the United Nations.
The US Department of Defense, led by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, announced Thursday night that US forces had conducted airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups in Syria. The strikes were reportedly in response to recent rocket attacks against US forces and coalition partners in Iraq.
The airstrikes come just hours after Zarif delivered a speech to the United Nations in which he threatened the US with “grave consequences” if it continued to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs.
The US airstrikes were conducted in coordination with the government of Iraq, and targeted Iranian-backed militia groups that have been launching rocket attacks against US forces and coalition partners in Iraq.
The US Department of Defense said in a statement that the airstrikes were “intended to degrade the ability of these Iranian-backed armed groups to conduct future attacks against Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces.”
The US airstrikes come at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran, and are likely to further inflame tensions between the two countries.
The US has long accused Iran of supporting and arming militia groups in Iraq and Syria, and has warned that these groups pose a threat to US forces and coalition partners in the region.
The US airstrikes are likely to be seen as a show of strength by the US, and a warning to Iran that the US will not tolerate Iranian-backed militia groups launching attacks against US forces and coalition partners in Iraq and Syria.
The US airstrikes also come at a time when the Biden administration is trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was abandoned by the Trump administration in 2018.
The US airstrikes are likely to complicate the Biden administration’s efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal, as Iran is likely to view the airstrikes as a violation of the deal.
It remains to be seen how Iran will respond to the US airstrikes, but it is clear that tensions between the US and Iran are likely to remain high in the coming days and weeks.
