WAR Main Persian Gulf Trouble thread

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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
jward said:
Iran Viewer
@IranViewer
17m

.
@IranViewer
has learned that the building which came under attack on Wednesday belongs to Iran’s Centrifuge Technology Company. TESA is the only factory producing centrifuges in Iran and is under US sanctions since 2011.
Click to expand...


Hummm......

Posted for fair use.....
www.therahnuma.com

Suspected Iranian nuclear production plant hit by drones, Tehran claims ‘sabotage attack’ | The Rahnuma-E-Deccan Daily

LONDON (RAHNUMA): A drone attack on a building in Iran, thought to be a nuclear facility, has caused considerable damage, it was claimed Thursday, despite Tehran stating on Wednesday it had foiled the “sabotage” attempt on the building. At least one small rotor-powered drone hit a factory owned...
www.therahnuma.com www.therahnuma.com

Suspected Iranian nuclear production plant hit by drones, Tehran claims ‘sabotage attack’

13 hours ago
1 minute read

LONDON (RAHNUMA): A drone attack on a building in Iran, thought to be a nuclear facility, has caused considerable damage, it was claimed Thursday, despite Tehran stating on Wednesday it had foiled the “sabotage” attempt on the building.

At least one small rotor-powered drone hit a factory owned by the Iran Centrifuge Technology Co. in Karaj, according to a US intelligence tip off published by the New York Times.

The factory, just outside Tehran, is believed to produce aluminium blades for use in Iran’s two uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, UK paper The Times reported.

Israeli media also said the building had been hit in an attack, with some reports saying it had involved “several” drones.

There was no immediate comment or attribution of blame from either Israel or Iran.

The incident “left no casualties or damages and was unable to disrupt the Iranian nuclear program,” Iranian state television said, before adding that authorities were now working to identify the perpetrators.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN body that monitors Tehran’s nuclear program, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The factory was allegedly on a list of targets presented to the administration of former US President Donald Trump last year by Israel, which regards the Iranian nuclear program as a cover for developing nuclear warheads, a claim denied by Tehran.

The incident follows several sother uspected attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear program that have heightened regional tensions in recent months, amid diplomatic efforts to resurrect Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers.

Trump’s decision to withdraw from the deal in 2018 has seen Iran, over time, abandon all limitations on uranium enrichment. The country is now enriching uranium to 60 percent, its highest ever levels, although still short of those required to develop weapons.

Iran has said that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and that it will return to its commitments once the US lifts sanctions imposed after Trump withdrew from the JCPOA.

Earlier this week, Iran’s sole nuclear power plant at Bushehr underwent an unexplained temporary emergency shutdown. Authorities had warned earlier this year of the plant’s possible closure because of US sanctions that supposedly prevented Iran procuring equipment for repairs.

In April, Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear facility experienced a mysterious blackout that damaged some of its centrifuges. Last July, unexplained fires struck the advanced centrifuge assembly plant at Natanz, which authorities later also described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain.

* With AP
 
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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Hummm......

Posted for fair use.....
For links please see article source.....
thehill.com

Have we already failed to ensure that Iran ‘never gets a nuclear weapon’?

A revived JCPOA, being negotiated in Vienna, is looking increasingly inadequate for the challenge — even if there’s agreement.
thehill.com thehill.com

Have we already failed to ensure that Iran 'never gets a nuclear weapon'?

BY SIMON HENDERSON, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 06/25/21 11:00 AM EDT
107Comments
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

What is a nuclear weapon? The answer is both technical and political — all the more so because, on Wednesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan met the visiting Israeli Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, and “affirmed the president’s commitment to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”

The term “nuclear weapon” is usually used to describe atomic bombs and the much more powerful hydrogen bombs. Strictly speaking, both the first U.S. atomic bomb and the first hydrogen bomb were not capable of being delivered on a target so are often labeled as being “devices.” So, is there an agreed definition of “nuclear weapon” between the U.S. and Israel, or was Sullivan being ambiguous? Would Iran be allowed to have capability, or even a device or two?

To be cynical, Iran’s nuclear weapons program (few seriously judge that Tehran doesn’t have one) is the slowest in world history. The transfer of centrifuge enrichment technology from Pakistan dates to at least the mid-1990s, more than 25 years ago. By contrast, Pakistan started its pursuit of enriched uranium needed for an atomic bomb in 1976, and probably achieved a workable design by 1983, having received blueprints and two bomb’s worth of high enriched uranium from China a couple of years earlier in the most egregious act of proliferation so far. But Pakistan did not carry out an actual test explosion until 1998 — a 22-year time span. To my mind, the game-changer is a crude but successful nuclear test explosion in some remote corner of the Iranian desert.

Part of the delay has been due to the assumed efforts of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, which last year is credited with blowing up the centrifuge assembly plant at Iran’s main Natanz facility, and earlier this summer apparently caused a power failure at Natanz, which had a catastrophic effect on hundreds of spinning centrifuges. An incident this week at a supposed centrifuge part assembly plant outside Tehran is also being credited to Israel.

But there also has been more than the occasional smokescreen by Iran. The controversial 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Report on Iran’s nuclear intentions and capabilities asserted that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and as of mid-2007 had not restarted it. But in its November 2011 safeguards report on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported: “There are also indications that some activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device continued after 2003, and that some may still be ongoing.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement that was a delaying tactic rather than a diplomatic solution, prompted Iran to break its commitments and bring into operation more efficient centrifuges, and to build up its stockpiles of semi-enriched uranium. Tehran’s recent announcement that it was enriching to 60 percent of the isotope uranium-235, the actual explosive material, was a shocker. Most of the hard work of enrichment needed to achieve the magic figure of 90 percent has been done at that point.

So, one perhaps should consider the possibility — even the probability — that the U.S.-led efforts to stop Iran from becoming a quasi-nuclear power have failed. Israel’s definition of that status would appear to be the ability of Tehran to enrich to 90 percent. The U.S. view instead might be for Iran to have a nuclear-tipped missile strike force. A possible midway point for some would be for Iran to have enough highly-enriched uranium for at least one test explosion, known in jargon as a “significant quantity.”

We are probably running out of time for such ambiguity to continue. And there is little sign that Israel’s new leader, Naftali Bennett, will take much of a different attitude on the issue from his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. The election of President Ebrahim Raisi in Iran does not provide much comfort either. A revived JCPOA, which is being negotiated in meetings in Vienna, is beginning to look increasingly inadequate for the challenge, even if an agreement of sorts can be reached.

For the moment we have firm ambiguity, rather than anything more solid. Nuclear weapons have spread surprisingly slowly since the end of World War II and never have been used in anger. This template looks like it’s changing.

Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Follow him on Twitter @shendersongulf.
 
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Housecarl

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Posted for fair use.....

The Space Launch Simorgh-asbord

www.armscontrolwonk.com www.armscontrolwonk.com

THE SPACE LAUNCH SIMORGH-ASBORD
by ACW Podcast | June 24, 2021 | No Comments

ARMS CONTROL WONK
The Space Launch Simorgh-asbord
javascript:void[0];
RT 35:16

Jeffrey’s team is at it again.

This time, they (and Jonathan McDowell!) caught an unannounced (and failed) Iranian space launch attempt and have now caught what appears to be a second unannounced (and failed) Iranian space launch attempt.

The failed launch detection was covered by Zachary Cohen and Oren Liebermann at CNN, who were kind enough to get the Pentagon to confirm that the first launch did, in fact, fail. We’re still waiting to hear about that second one though…

Jeffrey and Scott walk through Iran’s textbook space launch preparations, how Jeffrey’s team tracked the preparation and launch, and how one assesses that a rocket flight failed in absence of a big, obvious explosion.

Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

Please note that any views expressed on the Arms Control Wonk Podcast are the views of individual hosts, and do not represent the views of hosts’ respective employers.
 
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Housecarl

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jward said:
INTELSky Retweeted

National Interest
@TheNatlInterest1h

"If our strategic allies in the Middle East cannot rely on the U.S. for air-defense technology and support, they may turn to our adversaries to do so," Maya Carlin argues
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1409013725554786305
View: Https://twitter.com/TheNatlInterest/status/1409013725554786305?s=20
Click to expand...

The other option would be for the Saudis to finance the building out of systems by the Israel defense industry for their collective use and if the Israeli manufacturing capacity isn't immediately up to the volume expansion, then farm out parts of it to the Egyptians for integration and QA by the Israelis. And that's provided they have both the time and inclination to keep things from going kinetic, which I don't think they have.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
some of that is said to be occurring under cover, at least the financing n collective use

Housecarl said:
The other option would be for the Saudis to finance the building out of systems by the Israel defense industry for their collective use and if the Israeli manufacturing capacity isn't immediately up to the volume expansion, then farm out parts of it to the Egyptians for integration and QA by the Israelis. And that's provided they have both the time and inclination to keep things from going kinetic, which I don't think they have.
Click to expand...
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Middle East
Iran has drones with range of 7,000 km, Guards commander says
Reuters

2 minute read
DUBAI, June 27 (Reuters) - Iran has drones with a range of 7,000 km (4,375 miles), Iranian state media cited the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards as saying on Sunday, a development which may be seen by Washington as a threat to regional stability.

Tehran's assertion comes as Iran and six major powers are in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal that former U.S. President Donald Trump exited three years ago and reimposed sanctions.
Western military analysts say Iran sometimes exaggerates its capabilities, but drones are a key element in Tehran's border surveillance, especially the Gulf waters around the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply flows.
Iran and regional forces it backs have increasingly relied on drones in Yemen, Syria, Iraq in recent years.

"We have unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) with long range of 7,000 kilometres. They can fly, return home, and make landing wherever they are planned to," the Guards commander-in-chief Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to revive and eventually broaden the nuclear pact to put greater limits on Iran's nuclear and missile programmes, as well as constraining its activities.
Tehran has ruled out negotiations over ballistic missiles and its role in the Middle East, where Sh'ite-led Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia have been involved in proxy wars.

www.reuters.com

Iran has drones with range of 7,000 km, Guards commander says

Iran has drones with a range of 7,000 km (4,375 miles), Iranian state media cited the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards as saying on Sunday, a development which may be seen by Washington as a threat to regional stability.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
danielboon

danielboon

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EndGameWW3 Retweeted




Jason Brodsky

@JasonMBrodsky
·
49m

Biden is sending a clear message to #Iran in break btwn nuclear talks: seizure of PressTV & other websites; more aggressive rhetoric on U.S. being prepared to walk away from Vienna; alleged Israeli operation on centrifuge factory (unclear if any U.S. role); & tonight’s strikes.
Quote Tweet


3qbwxkt9_mini.jpg


Lucas Tomlinson

@LucasFoxNews
· 57m
U.S. Air Force F-15s and F-16s were used in the strikes tonight which took place ~6 pm ET (1 am local). At least one facility used by Iran’s milita forces to launch and recover drones was destroyed: U.S. defense official
 
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Housecarl

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danielboon said:
Aurora Intel
@AuroraIntel
·
24m

At least 4 reportedly killed in the #USAF airstrike(s) on the #Syria/#Iraq border in the targeting of a position belonging to #PMU's 14th brigade (Kata’ib Sayyid Shuhada).
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And this after they held a big parade/show of force yesterday.......

Posted for fair use.....
www.al-monitor.com

Iraqi PMU plan military parade as show of force

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units are organizing a military parade on the seventh anniversary of their establishment as a show of strength, but it may also reveal their divisions.
www.al-monitor.com www.al-monitor.com

Iraqi PMU plan military parade as show of force
Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units are organizing a military parade on the seventh anniversary of their establishment as a show of strength, but it may also reveal their divisions.

Mustafa Saadoun
@SaadoonMustafa
June 26, 2021

The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) are gearing up for a huge military parade June 26 to mark the seventh anniversary of the state-affiliated military organization's founding.

The parade will be taking place following the arrest and release of PMU official Qassim Musleh.

Observers said the parade may be an attempt to cover up divisions within various militias in the PMU such as the pro-Iran factions and the Hashd al-Marjaiya grouping close to Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In addition, there is a divide within the pro-Iran factions.

PMU sources told Al-Monitor that 20,000 fighters will take part in the parade, where new drones, missiles and armored vehicles will be displayed.

The sources said the Liwa Ansar al-Marjaiya and Firqat al-Imam Ali al-Qitaliyah militias decided to withdraw 36 hours prior to the parade on the advice of Hashd al-Marjaiya. The Peace Brigades, affiliated with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, will not be part of the parade either.

Informed PMU sources told Al-Monitor that the parade will take place in Diyala province. “Kadhimi will attend the show at the invitation of the PMU assembly,” a PMU leader told Al-Monitor.

The Fatah Alliance, which is led by Hadi al-Amiri, who is a prominent PMU leader and co-founder, accused Kadhimi of preventing the PMU from holding the parade in Baghdad’s Great Celebrations square, which is why Diyala was chosen instead.

The parade is to take place at Camp Ashraf, which was the headquarters of Mujahedeen-e Khalq, which opposes the Iranian regime.

A Hashd al-Marjaiya leader told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “We received an invitation to attend, but we apologized for not participating. We will not take part in any public forum or meeting with the top leaders, because we are against the way the PMU is managed.”

He added that any presence or participation by any member of the Hashd al-Marjaiya formation only would only represent that individual.

The military parade is seen as delivering a message that the PMU is a force that cannot be overlooked locally and regionally, and that there will be no new major political accords in Iraq without the PMU.

Ihsan al-Shammari, a political science professor at Baghdad University, told Al-Monitor, “The PMU’s central military parade at their founding anniversary aims to prove their strength, particularly since it is linked to the recent crisis in the Green Zone and security tension with the Iraqi government. Hence, the factions need to show off their strength, particularly since the deployment in the Green Zone decreased the support they had.”

He added that the armed parade will serve as a message to internal and external parties pushing for a restructuring of the PMU.

The message is that the PMU has become a parallel force to the Iraqi army and other security formations, contrary to what Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Inad had said.

The PMU has held intensive preparations for weeks for the parade, the first such major ceremonial event it has held. PMU leaders hope the parade will put the organization front and center again, after its image was shaken following Musleh’s arrest and accusations that it has poor combat capabilities.

The Iranian leadership does not seem enthusiastic about increasing pressure on the Iraqi government. There are signs that Tehran may not encourage the PMU to show off its strength, despite reports that Iranian-made heavy military equipment will be displayed in the parade.

While the media often directly covers the PMU, it has been reported that the press will not be present at the parade. Instead, the PMU's media directorate is to ensure content distribution to satellite media channels. Security reasons could be behind such an unprecedented measure.

Observers said the parade is designed to send two messages to Iraq's domestic audience. The first is to show the power of the PMU prior to elections planned for later this year, and the second is that the PMU has become stronger than the armed forces; the second message is directed to Kadhimi. Observers said the parade is also meant to send a regional message to the Gulf countries’ Peninsula Shield Force that there is a strong Shiite military force to contend with.
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
danielboon said:
EndGameWW3 Retweeted

Jason Brodsky
@JasonMBrodsky
·
49m

Biden is sending a clear message to #Iran in break btwn nuclear talks: seizure of PressTV & other websites; more aggressive rhetoric on U.S. being prepared to walk away from Vienna; alleged Israeli operation on centrifuge factory (unclear if any U.S. role); & tonight’s strikes.
Quote Tweet


3qbwxkt9_mini.jpg


Lucas Tomlinson

@LucasFoxNews
· 57m
U.S. Air Force F-15s and F-16s were used in the strikes tonight which took place ~6 pm ET (1 am local). At least one facility used by Iran’s milita forces to launch and recover drones was destroyed: U.S. defense official
Click to expand...

Posted for fair use.....
sputniknews.com

US Confirms Three Drone Attacks Near Its Consulate in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan - Photos

According to media reports, this comes amid an uptick in attacks at sites where American diplomatic and military personnel are based in Iraq, namely — Baghdad International Airport, the Green Zone and Erbil.
sputniknews.com sputniknews.com

US Confirms Three Drone Attacks Near Its Consulate in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan - Photos
© CC BY 2.0 / Jeffrey Beall / Erbil Skyline
MIDDLE EAST
19:35 GMT 26.06.2021(updated 01:41 GMT 27.06.2021)

According to media reports, this comes amid an uptick in attacks at sites where American diplomatic and military personnel are based in Iraq, namely — Baghdad International Airport, the Green Zone and Erbil.

At least three explosives-laden drones hit locations in northeastern Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, on Saturday, hitting civilian houses in the area.

According to Al Arabiya, the attack occurred as the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) held a military parade near Baghdad.

The US consulate, located just from where the drones fell, has confirmed the attack on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1408746072797818880
View: https://twitter.com/USConGenErbil/status/1408746072797818880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408746072797818880%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Fmiddleeast%2F202106261083248749-us-confirms-three-drone-attacks-near-its-consulate-in-erbil-iraqi-kurdistan---photos%2F


Photos allegedly showing the wreckage of the drones were posted on social media.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1408769987003756550
View: https://twitter.com/EnglishBasNews/status/1408769987003756550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408769987003756550%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Fmiddleeast%2F202106261083248749-us-confirms-three-drone-attacks-near-its-consulate-in-erbil-iraqi-kurdistan---photos%2F


The attack reportedly inflicted no casualties, but caused some material damage.
On June 20, a missile landed near the Ayn Al Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Iraqi media reported, citing security sources.
The Iraqi parliament voted in in January 2020 to end the presence of all foreign forces in the country in response to Washington's decision to launch a drone attack near Baghdad International Airport that killed senior Iranian top military commander Qasem Soleimani. According to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the potential of the national security services has increased significantly and will soon enable the country to forgo the need of foreign assistance.
Click to expand...
In light of the parliament's decision, the US-led coalition handed over multiple military bases and airfields to Iraqi control, as well as agreed to pull all foreign troops out of the country.
 
danielboon

danielboon

TB Fanatic
Housecarl said:
Posted for fair use.....
sputniknews.com

US Confirms Three Drone Attacks Near Its Consulate in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan - Photos

According to media reports, this comes amid an uptick in attacks at sites where American diplomatic and military personnel are based in Iraq, namely — Baghdad International Airport, the Green Zone and Erbil.
sputniknews.com sputniknews.com

US Confirms Three Drone Attacks Near Its Consulate in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan - Photos
© CC BY 2.0 / Jeffrey Beall / Erbil Skyline
MIDDLE EAST
19:35 GMT 26.06.2021(updated 01:41 GMT 27.06.2021)

According to media reports, this comes amid an uptick in attacks at sites where American diplomatic and military personnel are based in Iraq, namely — Baghdad International Airport, the Green Zone and Erbil.

At least three explosives-laden drones hit locations in northeastern Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, on Saturday, hitting civilian houses in the area.

According to Al Arabiya, the attack occurred as the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) held a military parade near Baghdad.

The US consulate, located just from where the drones fell, has confirmed the attack on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1408746072797818880
View: https://twitter.com/USConGenErbil/status/1408746072797818880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408746072797818880%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Fmiddleeast%2F202106261083248749-us-confirms-three-drone-attacks-near-its-consulate-in-erbil-iraqi-kurdistan---photos%2F


Photos allegedly showing the wreckage of the drones were posted on social media.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1408769987003756550
View: https://twitter.com/EnglishBasNews/status/1408769987003756550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408769987003756550%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsputniknews.com%2Fmiddleeast%2F202106261083248749-us-confirms-three-drone-attacks-near-its-consulate-in-erbil-iraqi-kurdistan---photos%2F


The attack reportedly inflicted no casualties, but caused some material damage.
On June 20, a missile landed near the Ayn Al Asad airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Iraqi media reported, citing security sources.

In light of the parliament's decision, the US-led coalition handed over multiple military bases and airfields to Iraqi control, as well as agreed to pull all foreign troops out of the country.
Click to expand...
I doubt we are leaving anytime soon
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Iran International English
@IranIntl_En
22m

Today #Iran-backed militias in #Iraq warned the U.S. after the strikes last night: “We ... will avenge the blood of our righteous martyrs against the perpetrators of this heinous crime and with God’s help we will make the enemy taste the bitterness of revenge." 1/2
#Iraq's military also criticized the strikes saying they were a “blatant and unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and national security.” It called for avoiding escalation, but also rejected that Iraq be an “arena for settling accounts." 2/
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
:shr:
Evan Kohlmann
@IntelTweet
29s

Amid a volley of threats in response to new U.S. airstrikes on the Iraq/Syria border, influential Iraqi Shiite insurgent source "Sabereen News" has announced that "the breaking of the bones of U.S. forces in Iraq has begun", without offering any further detail.
 
danielboon

danielboon

TB Fanatic
EndGameWW3 Retweeted




Deir Ezzore Now

@DeirEzzorNow
·
42m

#BREAKING A source from the Deralzor Military Council of the SDF: There are no casualties among the U.S. military at the U.S. base, only material damage, and some shells landed near the oil field.
Quote Tweet


SvqqajjM_mini.jpg


Deir Ezzore Now

@DeirEzzorNow
· 50m
There are news agencies that say that the US warplanes bombed the city of Al-Mayadeen, the news is fictitious, there was no U.S. bombing of the city of #almayadeen or its surroundings, o
 
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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.....

Page doesn't exist

English news from the Voice of America. VOA news provides coverage from around the world and learning English lessons from VOA Special English.
www.voanews.com www.voanews.com

US Strikes Targets in Iraq, Syria Used by Iranian-Backed Militias
By Carla Babb
June 28, 2021 05:46 PM

PENTAGON - A rocket attack targeted U.S. forces in Syria Monday, hours after the U.S. military said it struck three targets near the border between Syria and Iraq used by Iranian-backed militias to carry out drone attacks on U.S. personnel and facilities.

“At approx. 7:44 PM local time, U.S. Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets. There are no injuries, and damage is being assessed," U.S. Colonel Wayne Marotto, the spokesman for the international military intervention against Islamic State, wrote on Twitter.

Marotto did not attribute responsibility for the rocket attack.

Overnight, the U.S. struck weapons storage and operational facilities used by militias such as Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. Two of the targets were inside Syria and one was inside Iraq.

VOA_Placeholder.png

VOA Exclusive: CENTCOM Head Says US Will Not Support Afghan Forces with Airstrikes After Troop Withdrawal

New details have emerged about the expected US role in Afghanistan after America’s military exit after nearly 20 years of war

“The attacks against our troops need to stop, and that is why the president ordered the operation last night in self-defense of our personnel,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday.

U.S. troops in Iraq have come under attack from drone strikes three times in a “little over a month,” General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told VOA in an interview in Cairo on June 15. The attacks resulted in no casualties.

“There are a lot of drones in Iraq. Some of them are indigenous. Some of them came from Iran. We're certain of that,” McKenzie said.

Pentagon spokesperson Navy Commander Jessica McNulty added on Monday that “Iran-backed militias have conducted at least five one-way UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attacks against facilities used by U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq since April, as well as ongoing rocket attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.”

“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but we are well-postured to defend our forces around the region and respond to any threats or attacks,” she said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday condemned the U.S. airstrike on its soil, calling it a violation of national sovereignty that breached international conventions. Iraq’s military said its country should not be an arena “for settling scores.”

Psaki noted that the U.S. agrees with a call for de-escalation from the Iraqi prime minister but said Monday the administration felt confident in its “legal justification” for the strikes.

"President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel," the Pentagon’s John Kirby said in a late Sunday statement, adding that the strikes were “appropriately limited in scope.”

Rocket and drone attacks against coalition troops have been somewhat frequent since a drone strike in January 2020 near the Baghdad airport killed Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed in the strike.

Sunday’s strikes were the second time that the Biden administration has ordered attacks against Iranian-backed groups. In late February, the U.S. targeted buildings in Syria belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militias responsible for attacks against American and allied personnel in Iraq.

During Monday’s joint press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. took “necessary, appropriate, deliberate action” designed to limit the risk of escalation while sending a “clear and unambiguous” message of deterrence.

Psaki told reporters the White House had notified some members of Congress ahead of the strikes and was in close touch with partners in the region.

Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shared concern that the pace of attacks on U.S. personnel and the number of retaliatory strikes from Iran-backed groups was “starting to look like what would qualify as a pattern of hostilities under the War Powers Act.”

"Both the Constitution and the War Powers Act require the president to come to Congress for a war declaration under these circumstances," Murphy said in a statement.

Senator Jim Inhofe, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke out against Iranian-backed militias and said the attacks “highlight the continued need” for Congress’ 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force, which Congress is currently debating whether to revoke.

The AUMF authorizes all necessary force against entities the president determines aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such terrorists, in order to prevent any future attacks against the United States.

"Iran’s persistent attacks on American personnel via its proxies cannot be tolerated,” Inhofe said in a statement. “We need a more focused and clear approach on Iran from President Biden — not one that occasionally responds to its threats, but too often seeks to appease it."

Nike Ching contributed to this report.
 
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Pentagon: We are not interested in escalating the situation in Iraq or Syria, and our forces are present at an Iraqi request to help confront ISIS Arlington, Virginia - Iraq news map in English - News from Baghdad, Anbar, Kirkuk, Nineveh, Kurdistan r

Pentagon: We are not interested in escalating the situation in Iraq or Syria, and our forces are present at an Iraqi request to help confront ISIS. Explore Iraq local news alerts & today's headlines geolocated on live map on website or application. Focus on politics, military news and security...
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