The United States on Friday carried out a series of military strikes against Iranian forces and the militias they support in seven sites in Syria and Iraq, marking a sharp escalation of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration has for four months sought to avoid.
The airstrikes, targeting command and control operations, intelligence centers, weapons facilities and bunkers used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force and affiliated militia groups, made good on President Biden’s promise to respond to a drone attack in Jordan on Sunday that killed three American soldiers and injured at least 40 more service members.
The military action also sought to send a message to Iran and the militias it backs that continued attacks on U.S. troops in the region and commercial ships in the Red Sea would draw a response.
The strikes hit more than 85 targets at different locations using more than 125 precision-guided munitions, according to a statement by U.S. Central Command.
“This past Sunday, three American soldiers were killed in Jordan by a drone launched by militant groups backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” President Biden said in a statement. “Our response began today.”
Mr. Biden approved the strikes earlier in the week. He even telegraphed that they were coming when he told reporters on Tuesday that he had made a decision on the response to the drone attack on a remote outpost in Jordan. Middle East analysts said that many Revolutionary Guards trainers, fearful that they could be hit, returned to Iran this week while militia leaders are in hiding.
But U.S. officials made it clear that Friday night’s attacks were to be followed by more over the next days, weeks and perhaps even months. Two American officials said the United States also conducted cyberoperations against Iranian targets on Friday but declined to provide details.
The American response, Mr. Biden said in his statement Friday, “will continue at times and places of our choosing.”
“The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” he said. “But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”
American bombers hit targets at four sites in Syria and three sites in Iraq in a 30-minute attack, U.S. officials said. John F. Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman, told reporters Friday night that the Iraqi government had been notified before the strikes.
Mr. Kirby said the targets at each site were picked because they were linked to specific attacks against American troops in the region, and to avoid civilian casualties. He said he did not know if any Iranians or militia members were killed or wounded in the attack.
The point of the strikes, Mr. Kirby said, was about “taking away capability” of the militias to continue to strike American troops. “This wasn’t just a message-sending routine tonight.”
By avoiding targets in Iran, the White House and Central Command are trying to send a message of deterrence while controlling escalation. It is clear from statements from the White House, and from Tehran, that neither the United States nor Iran wants a wider war. But, as the strike in Jordan showed, with any military action comes the chance of miscalculation.
The Biden administration carried out what officials called a “tiered” response — striking multiple targets from the air. The Pentagon deployed two American B-1B bombers, which departed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, early Friday and made the more than 6,000-mile flight to deliver their payload of munitions from the skies over Iraq and Syria.
Sending B1-B bombers from American soil carried several advantages, officials said. The B-1Bs can carry dozens of precision munitions, allowing commanders in the region to keep their land- and carrier-based strike aircraft in reserve for follow-up strikes, a U.S. official said. Mideast countries housing American attack aircraft are increasingly reluctant to have their bases used for offensive strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to avoid being perceived as supporting Israel. Striking sites in the Mideast with aircraft launched from the United States and refueled midair is a muscular show of global reach and capability, the official said.
“The beauty of the American bomber is we can strike anywhere in the world at a time of our choosing,” Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims, the director of the military’s Joint Staff, told reporters Friday night.
Officials said that the strike was timed for clear weather. While the military can strike when there is cloud cover, a clear evening allows a higher degree of confidence.
General Sims said that once it was daylight in Iraq and Syria on Saturday, military analysts would…
Read More: Middle East Crisis: U.S. Strikes Over 85 Targets at 7 Sites in Iraq and Syria