US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials say
The US has sanctioned plans for a sequence of attacks on Iranian sites in Syria and Iraq, as indicated by officials speaking to CBS News, the US partner of the BBC.
Officials mentioned that the strikes will unfold over several days and will likely depend on weather conditions for their timing.
This decision follows a drone strike that resulted in the deaths of three US soldiers in Jordan near the Syrian border last Sunday.
The US attributed the attack to an Iranian-supported militia group.
This group, identified as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, is believed to encompass various militias supported, financed, and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards force. It has claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday.
Iran has refuted any involvement in the attack, which also wounded 41 other US troops at the military base known as Tower 22.
US officials have indicated that American intelligence suggests the drone used in the attack was produced by Iran and resembles the drones sent by Iran to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
During a press conference on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended the delayed military response, asserting, “We will respond where we choose, when we choose, and how we choose.”
He added, “I think everyone recognizes the challenge associated with making sure that we hold the right people accountable,” emphasizing that there is no fixed formula for such actions.
Mr Austin continued, “There are ways to manage this so it doesn’t spiral out of control. And that’s been our focus throughout.”
The officials who disclosed the information to CBS News did not provide a precise timeline for the potential strikes. They mentioned that the US military could execute them in adverse weather conditions but preferred optimal visibility to mitigate the risk of unintended civilian casualties.
President Joe Biden has faced increasing pressure from Republican lawmakers, including some of Washington’s most hawkish figures on Iran, to target Iranian sites.
However, while the US has pledged to respond to the drone attack, Mr Biden and other defense officials have stated that Washington is not seeking a broader conflict with Iran or an escalation of tensions in the region.
“That’s not what I’m looking for,” Mr Biden told reporters at the White House earlier this week.
The reportedly approved plans appear to keep the targeting to Iranian targets Syria and Iraq, rather than inside Iran.
Several Iran-backed groups have increased attacks on US and Israeli-linked entities since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, for example, have attacked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, prompting strikes from the US and its allies.
A US defence official told CBS that a drone was shot down overnight in the Gulf of Aden, while an unmanned sea drone was struck and destroyed in the Red Sea.
Citing unnamed sources, Reuters on Thursday reported that Iran had withdrawn senior officials from Syria following a series of Israeli airstrikes in a bid to avoid being directly drawn into a wider conflict in the region.
US officials told CNN this week that there were signs that the Iranian government was becoming increasingly concerned about the actions of its proxy groups in the region, who have launched over 160 attacks on US forces since October.
The bodies of the three US soldiers killed in the attack in Jordan are expected to be repatriated to a Delaware Air Force base on Friday. The White House has announced that President Biden will attend.
The three soldiers have been named as William Jerome Rivers, 46, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, and Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23. All three were part of an army reserve unit based in Fort Moore, Georgia.