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The statement comes amid another incident in Syria in which U.S. forces were attacked by Iranian-backed militias.
At least one U.S. military service member in Syria suffered a minor injury and as many as three suspected Iranian-backed militants were killed on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, in the second straight day of violence.
The latest exchange of fire underscored rising military tensions amid diplomatic efforts between Iran and the West to try to save the 2015 nuclear deal. It came a day after President Joe Biden authorized U.S. airstrikes in Syria against an ammunition depot and other facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The U.S. military said suspected Iranian-backed militants launched two separate strikes that began at approximately 7:20 p.m. local time in Syria.
US Airstrike in Syria
Several rockets landed within the perimeter of the Conoco mission support site in northeastern Syria and were quickly followed by rocket fire near the Green Village mission support site, it said in a statement.
That triggered a U.S. response from helicopters that, according to initial assessments, killed two or three militants carrying out one of the attacks, he said.
Central Command said the wounded U.S. service member had been at the Conoco mission support site and returned to service after treatment. Two other service members were under evaluation for minor injuries, he said. Some injuries, including brain trauma, can manifest after an incident.
The latest attacks by the alleged Iranian-backed groups could be retaliation for Biden’s airstrikes on Tuesday. Earlier on Wednesday, Iran denied having any links to the sites targeted Tuesday by the United States. The Biden-authorized airstrikes involved eight U.S. fighter jets, four F-16s and four F-15Es, and hit nine targets in Syria, the military said.
The White House said Wednesday that its actions in Syria were independent of ongoing efforts to renew the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA between Iran and world powers over their atomic ambitions.
“We took this action because the president determined that doing so was in our national security interest. He will continue to closely monitor the situation with his national security team. So that’s something we’re going to continue to do,” Press said. Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the daily press briefing. “The president has said that his promise to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon has been his promise from the beginning. A nuclear-armed Iran would pose an even greater threat to U.S. forces, friends and allies in the region,” he said. He continued, adding that “the president will use all means that are necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”
The Pentagon
The Pentagon said Wednesday that U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria were a message to Iranian- and Tehran-backed militias that targeted U.S. troops this month and several other times over the past year, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Colin Kahl, undersecretary for defense policy, told reporters that overnight U.S. airstrikes on facilities used by militias backed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards demonstrated that “the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iranian-backed aggression when it occurs.” .”
“We are closely following the situation,” Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, who heads Central Command, said in a statement.
SKJ