WASHINGTON: America on Wednesday attributed the drone assault that killed three US service members in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, as President Joe Biden weighs his choices to reply to the strike.
Iran threatened to “decisively reply” to any US assault on the Islamic Republic after the US mentioned it held Tehran accountable.The US has signaled it’s getting ready for retaliatory strikes within the Mideast within the wake of the Sunday drone assault that additionally wounded greater than 40 troops at Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that is been essential to the American presence in neighboring Syria.
Nationwide Safety Council spokesman John Kirby mentioned Wednesday the US believes the assault was deliberate, resourced and facilitated by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group that features the militant group Kataib Hezbollah. He mentioned Biden “believes that you will need to reply in an applicable manner.”
He mentioned Biden was persevering with to weigh his choices, however Kirby mentioned “the very first thing you see will not be the very last thing,” including it “will not be a one-off.”
Kirby dismissed an announcement by Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah asserting “the suspension of navy and safety operations in opposition to the occupation forces in an effort to forestall embarrassment to the Iraqi authorities.” He mentioned the group cannot be taken at face worth, and he added, “they don’t seem to be the one group that has been attacking us.”
As of Wednesday, Kataib Hezbollah and different Iran-aligned militias had launched 166 assaults on US navy installations since Oct. 18, together with 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and the one in Jordan, in response to the US navy.
The US has struck again on the militias a couple of occasions over the previous three months. On Oct. 27, US fighter jets struck two weapons and ammunition storage websites in japanese Syria close to Boukamal that had been utilized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed teams.
Additionally in Syria, fighter jets dropped bombs on an IRGC weapons storage facility close to Maysulun in Deir el-Zour on Nov. 8. And US airstrikes focused a coaching facility and a secure home within the Bulbul district of Mayadin on Nov. 12.
On Dec 26, the US launched strikes on three areas in Iraq utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated teams, and on Jan. 23, the US struck three siUStes in Iraq, once more focusing on Kataib Hezbollah.
Any extra American strikes may additional inflame a area already roiled by Israel’s ongoing struggle on Hamas within the Gaza Strip. The struggle started with Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 individuals and taking about 250 hostage. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed greater than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced practically 2 million others from their properties, arousing anger all through the Muslim world.
Violence has erupted throughout the Mideast, with Iran placing targets in Iraq, Pakistan and Syria, and the US finishing up airstrikes focusing on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels over their assaults on delivery within the Pink Sea. Some observers concern a brand new spherical of strikes focusing on Iran may tip the area right into a wider struggle.
A US Navy destroyer within the waterway shot down an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis late Tuesday, the most recent assault focusing on American forces patrolling the important thing maritime commerce route, officers mentioned. The US later launched a brand new spherical of airstrikes focusing on the Houthis.
The Iranian warnings first got here from Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He gave a briefing to Iranian journalists late Tuesday, in response to the state-run IRNA information company.
“The Islamic Republic would decisively reply to any assault on the county, its pursuits and nationals below any pretexts,” IRNA quoted Iravani as saying. He described any potential Iranian retaliation as a “sturdy response,” with out elaborating.
The Iranian mission to the UN didn’t reply to requests for remark or elaboration Wednesday on Iravani’s remarks.
Iravani additionally denied that Iran and the US had exchanged any messages over the previous few days, both by way of intermediaries or straight. The pan-Arab satellite tv for pc channel Al Jazeera, which relies in and funded by Qatar, reported earlier that such communication had taken place. Qatar usually serves as an middleman between Washington and Tehran.
However Iran’s authorities has taken notice of the US threats of retaliation for the assault on the bottom in Jordan.
“Someday, our enemies elevate the risk, and these days we hear some threats in between phrases by American officers,” Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Hossein Salami, who solutions solely to Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mentioned at an occasion Wednesday. “We inform them that you’ve skilled us, and we all know one another. We don’t depart any risk with out a solution.”
“We aren’t after struggle, however we now have no concern of struggle,” he added, in response to IRNA.
Kirby, for his half, mentioned the US does not “search a struggle with Iran. We’re not on the lookout for a broader battle.”
On Saturday, a basic in control of Iran’s air defenses described them as being at their “highest defensive readiness.” That raises issues for business aviation touring by way of and over Iran as properly. After a US drone strike killed a high basic in 2020, Iranian air defenses mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger airplane, killing all 176 individuals on board.
In the meantime, assaults by the Houthis proceed within the Pink Sea. A missile launched Tuesday night time focused the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the US navy’s Central Command mentioned in an announcement. No accidents or harm had been reported.
A Houthi navy spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed accountability for the assault in an announcement Wednesday morning, calling it “a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian individuals and a response to the American-British aggression in opposition to our nation.”
Saree claimed the Houthis fired “a number of” missiles, one thing not acknowledged by the US Navy. Houthi claims have been exaggerated up to now, and their missiles typically crash on land and fail to succeed in their targets.
On Wednesday, a US navy jet struck a surface-to-air missile that was about to launch from Houthi-controlled Yemen, a US official mentioned. The missile was deemed a right away risk and destroyed. The official spoke on the situation of anonymity to supply particulars forward of a public announcement.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly focused ships within the Pink Sea over Israel’s offensive in opposition to Hamas in Gaza. However they’ve often focused vessels with tenuous or no clear hyperlinks to Israel, imperiling delivery in a key route for world commerce between Asia, the Mideast and Europe.
The Houthis hit a business vessel with a missile on Friday, sparking a hearth that burned for hours.
The US and the UK have launched a number of rounds of airstrikes focusing on the Houthis as allied warships patrol the waterways affected by the assaults. The European Union additionally plans to launch a naval mission within the Pink Sea inside three weeks to assist defend cargo ships in opposition to the Houthi assaults, the bloc’s high diplomat mentioned Wednesday.
Iran threatened to “decisively reply” to any US assault on the Islamic Republic after the US mentioned it held Tehran accountable.The US has signaled it’s getting ready for retaliatory strikes within the Mideast within the wake of the Sunday drone assault that additionally wounded greater than 40 troops at Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that is been essential to the American presence in neighboring Syria.
Nationwide Safety Council spokesman John Kirby mentioned Wednesday the US believes the assault was deliberate, resourced and facilitated by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group that features the militant group Kataib Hezbollah. He mentioned Biden “believes that you will need to reply in an applicable manner.”
He mentioned Biden was persevering with to weigh his choices, however Kirby mentioned “the very first thing you see will not be the very last thing,” including it “will not be a one-off.”
Kirby dismissed an announcement by Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah asserting “the suspension of navy and safety operations in opposition to the occupation forces in an effort to forestall embarrassment to the Iraqi authorities.” He mentioned the group cannot be taken at face worth, and he added, “they don’t seem to be the one group that has been attacking us.”
As of Wednesday, Kataib Hezbollah and different Iran-aligned militias had launched 166 assaults on US navy installations since Oct. 18, together with 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and the one in Jordan, in response to the US navy.
The US has struck again on the militias a couple of occasions over the previous three months. On Oct. 27, US fighter jets struck two weapons and ammunition storage websites in japanese Syria close to Boukamal that had been utilized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed teams.
Additionally in Syria, fighter jets dropped bombs on an IRGC weapons storage facility close to Maysulun in Deir el-Zour on Nov. 8. And US airstrikes focused a coaching facility and a secure home within the Bulbul district of Mayadin on Nov. 12.
On Dec 26, the US launched strikes on three areas in Iraq utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated teams, and on Jan. 23, the US struck three siUStes in Iraq, once more focusing on Kataib Hezbollah.
Any extra American strikes may additional inflame a area already roiled by Israel’s ongoing struggle on Hamas within the Gaza Strip. The struggle started with Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 individuals and taking about 250 hostage. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed greater than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced practically 2 million others from their properties, arousing anger all through the Muslim world.
Violence has erupted throughout the Mideast, with Iran placing targets in Iraq, Pakistan and Syria, and the US finishing up airstrikes focusing on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels over their assaults on delivery within the Pink Sea. Some observers concern a brand new spherical of strikes focusing on Iran may tip the area right into a wider struggle.
A US Navy destroyer within the waterway shot down an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis late Tuesday, the most recent assault focusing on American forces patrolling the important thing maritime commerce route, officers mentioned. The US later launched a brand new spherical of airstrikes focusing on the Houthis.
The Iranian warnings first got here from Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He gave a briefing to Iranian journalists late Tuesday, in response to the state-run IRNA information company.
“The Islamic Republic would decisively reply to any assault on the county, its pursuits and nationals below any pretexts,” IRNA quoted Iravani as saying. He described any potential Iranian retaliation as a “sturdy response,” with out elaborating.
The Iranian mission to the UN didn’t reply to requests for remark or elaboration Wednesday on Iravani’s remarks.
Iravani additionally denied that Iran and the US had exchanged any messages over the previous few days, both by way of intermediaries or straight. The pan-Arab satellite tv for pc channel Al Jazeera, which relies in and funded by Qatar, reported earlier that such communication had taken place. Qatar usually serves as an middleman between Washington and Tehran.
However Iran’s authorities has taken notice of the US threats of retaliation for the assault on the bottom in Jordan.
“Someday, our enemies elevate the risk, and these days we hear some threats in between phrases by American officers,” Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Hossein Salami, who solutions solely to Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mentioned at an occasion Wednesday. “We inform them that you’ve skilled us, and we all know one another. We don’t depart any risk with out a solution.”
“We aren’t after struggle, however we now have no concern of struggle,” he added, in response to IRNA.
Kirby, for his half, mentioned the US does not “search a struggle with Iran. We’re not on the lookout for a broader battle.”
On Saturday, a basic in control of Iran’s air defenses described them as being at their “highest defensive readiness.” That raises issues for business aviation touring by way of and over Iran as properly. After a US drone strike killed a high basic in 2020, Iranian air defenses mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger airplane, killing all 176 individuals on board.
In the meantime, assaults by the Houthis proceed within the Pink Sea. A missile launched Tuesday night time focused the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the US navy’s Central Command mentioned in an announcement. No accidents or harm had been reported.
A Houthi navy spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed accountability for the assault in an announcement Wednesday morning, calling it “a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian individuals and a response to the American-British aggression in opposition to our nation.”
Saree claimed the Houthis fired “a number of” missiles, one thing not acknowledged by the US Navy. Houthi claims have been exaggerated up to now, and their missiles typically crash on land and fail to succeed in their targets.
On Wednesday, a US navy jet struck a surface-to-air missile that was about to launch from Houthi-controlled Yemen, a US official mentioned. The missile was deemed a right away risk and destroyed. The official spoke on the situation of anonymity to supply particulars forward of a public announcement.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly focused ships within the Pink Sea over Israel’s offensive in opposition to Hamas in Gaza. However they’ve often focused vessels with tenuous or no clear hyperlinks to Israel, imperiling delivery in a key route for world commerce between Asia, the Mideast and Europe.
The Houthis hit a business vessel with a missile on Friday, sparking a hearth that burned for hours.
The US and the UK have launched a number of rounds of airstrikes focusing on the Houthis as allied warships patrol the waterways affected by the assaults. The European Union additionally plans to launch a naval mission within the Pink Sea inside three weeks to assist defend cargo ships in opposition to the Houthi assaults, the bloc’s high diplomat mentioned Wednesday.
