US President Joe Biden “directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests,” Austin says in a statement.
Austin stresses that the US “does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must stop.”
“Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against US forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people,” the US defense chief says.
“These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict,” Austin clarifies
“We continue to urge all state and non-state entities not to take action that would escalate into a broader regional conflict,” he says.
A missile fell near a medical facility in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Taba next to the Israeli border, injuring six people Egypt’s Al Qahera News reports.
The IDF says it is aware of a security incident on the other side of its border with Egypt.
The Pentagon says that there was an attempted attack at Irbil air base in Iraq but there were no casualties and only minor damage to the facilities.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, declines to detail which Iranian-backed groups may be responsible for the recent spate of attacks at bases in Iraq and Syria.
He says there have been at least 12 attacks in Iraq and four in Syria, and that 21 US personnel received minor injuries in two separate attacks early last week.
No comments:
Post a Comment