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National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the United States would take “further action” after carrying out heavy airstrikes over the weekend against Iranian-backed militias that attacked U.S. forces in the Middle East. Ta.
Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” that “when the president issues an order and when we carry out an order, that’s the beginning of our response and that there will be more steps to come.” I just want to say that I made it clear.”
“What that means is we will take further action,” Professor Sullivan said in response to Mr Bash, who asked if that meant the US was planning further attacks.
“Of course, I’m not going to characterize that behavior because I don’t want to telegraph our punches,” he said.
Sullivan’s comments came after the United States adopted a “layered” response to a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members and injured more than 40 last week. The attack caused the worst loss of U.S. military life in the region in nearly three years and the first U.S. military fatality since the outbreak of the Gaza War.
On Friday, the US struck 85 targets in seven locations in Iraq and Syria, sharply escalating tensions between the US and Iranian-backed groups that have been attacking US military bases across the region in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. It increased to The groups, believed to be funded and trained by Iran, hold the United States responsible for Israel’s actions in supplying weapons to the Jewish state and failing to enforce a ceasefire.
The Iraqi government said on Friday that US airstrikes killed at least 16 people, including civilians, and wounded 25 others in Iraq. Iraqi officials said the attacks targeted areas near the border with Syria and facilities used by the Iran-linked al-Hashd al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) in the Iraqi city of al-Qaim.
Sullivan said the U.S. is “still assessing combat damage” from Friday night’s attacks in Iraq and Syria, and that “CENTCOM, our central command, is assessing the capabilities we have reduced and the number of casualties sustained.” “I am doing so,” he said.
CNN cannot independently verify the number or nature of casualties.
The next day, the United States and Britain, with support from several other countries, attacked at least 30 Houthi targets in Yemen from air and ground platforms, including fighter jets.
Saturday’s attack specifically targeted Houthi weapons storage facilities and equipment. In response, the Houthis said they would not stop until Israel ended its operations in Gaza.
As for whether the United States is currently involved in a regional conflict, Sullivan maintains that Iranian-backed militia attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria are separate from Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. He called them “separate but related challenges.”
But he said Tehran is at the center of most of it.
“Iran bears significant and pernicious responsibility for much of the instability in the Middle East,” he said. “And that requires consideration of how we approach everything we do and how we need to approach everything Israel does.”
The Biden administration is threading the needle. While deterring and deterring further attacks, it wants to avoid a full-scale conflict with Iran in a region already roiled by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“We’re not going to take America to war,” Sullivan said. “So we’re going to stick to both lines at the same time, as we did on Friday night, and we’re going to continue to pursue policies that respond forcefully and clearly, but at the same time we’re going to continue to adhere to an approach that doesn’t go along with the U.S. ” caught up in the kind of wars we see all too often in the Middle East. ”
Asked if the U.S. would rule out attacks on Iranian soil, Sullivan said, “We’re not ruling out or ruling out any activity anywhere,” but added, “The president will do what he thinks is necessary.” Probably.”
A senior administration official previously confirmed to CNN that the US would not attack Iranian territory and would focus only on targets outside the country.
The Iranian government has repeatedly said it does not seek conflict. On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said his country had no intention of starting a war but would “respond strongly.”
CNN’s Jack Forrest, Haley Britsky, Kevin Liptak, Oren Lieberman and Nadine Ebrahim contributed to this report.
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