The U.S. military carried out airstrikes in Syria targetting sites used by groups affiliated with Iran, the Pentagon announced late Thursday, amid surging tensions in the Middle East.
The strikes, which were ordered by President Joe Biden, targeted facilities in eastern Syria “used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Calling the action “precision self-defense strikes” Austin said they were in response to “ongoing and mostly unsuccessful” attacks by Iran-backed militias targeting U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.
Austin said the U.S. is not seeking to further escalate the conflict but warned Iran that attacks against its troops in the Middle East are “unacceptable and must stop.”
The defense secretary’s statement also said these strikes were “separate and distinct” from the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and did not represent a shift in the U.S. approach to that conflict.
Austin reiterated the White House and the State Department’s earlier statements urging “all state and non-state entities” in the region to avoid any actions to further escalate that conflict.
