Fear of an escalation of the conflict is tempering US retaliation against pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq
The retribution was not just to be expected. This was also announced by US President Joe Biden, who assured on Tuesday that he had already decided how his country would respond to the drone attack on a US base in Jordan two days earlier, in which three soldiers were killed. However, the specification this Friday with attacks on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militias has increased concerns about a possible spread of tensions in the Middle East to more actors and countries. The attacks killed 23 people guarding facilities in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights with observers on the ground, and 16 in Iraq, including civilians who were near the attacked sites, the government reported. According to the United States Central Command (Centcom), 125 precision munitions were used in military aviation.
As also expected, the attacked countries and Iran have criticized the retaliation. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who combined conciliatory statements with Washington with a call for the forces of the coalition he leads against ISIS to leave the country, asserted that the bombings “threaten the security of Iraq and the region.” on the brink of the abyss.” The Syrian government, backed by Russia and Iran in the 13-year war, called the United States a “major source of global instability,” while Tehran spoke of a “strategic mistake” by Washington that ” she brings with her”. even more.” in the region and “hides Israel’s crimes” in Gaza.
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