(CNN) President Joe Biden announced to Congress on Saturday his decision to authorize an air strike in Syria this week against facilities the US said were linked to Iran.
The US airstrike came after a suspected Iranian drone struck a facility housing US personnel in the country, killing an American contractor and wounding five US soldiers.
The strikes, Biden said in his letter to Congress, were conducted “to protect and defend the safety of our personnel, to mitigate and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners, and to deter the Islamic Republic.” Iran and Iran-backed militias from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities.”
The President added that the US attacks “were conducted in a manner aimed at creating deterrence, limiting the risk of escalation and avoiding civilian casualties.”
Saturday’s notification is a routine part of the War Powers Act, which requires the president to notify Congress of military action within 48 hours. The letter was sent to both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Pro Tempore President Senator Patty Murray.
The strikes are likely to increase tensions with Iran, with which the proxy groups are allied, though Tehran is not always involved in directing the attacks they carry out.
The US has already sanctioned Tehran for providing combat drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine. And on Thursday, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated US concerns that Iran has the potential to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon in less than two weeks and manufacture one within months.
Brig. General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday that the US does not seek conflict with Iran, but said the strikes “should send a very clear message that we are going to take protecting our personnel seriously and that… we will respond quickly and decisively when threatened.”
CNN’s Michael Calllahan, Oren Liebermann, Natasha Bertrand, and Haley Britzky contributed to this report.