The United States has attacked two places where Iran’s Revolutionary Guards keep their weapons and ammunition in eastern Syria.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the airstrikes happened because Iranian-supported armed groups attacked US bases in Iraq and Syria recently.
He said that the US strikes were different from the fighting happening between Israel and Hamas.
Iran has not yet responded or made a statement about the matter.
The attacks happened on Friday morning around 4:30 in Abu Kamal, a town near the Iraq border.
We don’t know yet if anyone was hurt or killed in the attacks.
American and allied soldiers have been targeted in Iraq 12 times and in Syria 4 times during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Pentagon says that 21 US military personnel were hurt but not seriously.
American officials say that the attacks were done by Iranian groups who are working together with other groups in that area. Iran supports both Hamas, which is in charge of Gaza, and Hezbollah, which operates in Lebanon, by giving them weapons and financial assistance.
Mr Austin said that the attacks on US forces by Iran-backed groups are not acceptable and need to be stopped.
“If Iran’s allies keep attacking our forces, we will do whatever it takes to keep our people safe. ”
The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden had sent a special message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, advising them not to attack US personnel in the Middle East.
During a meeting at the United Nations in New York, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, cautioned that the United States would also face consequences if the violence in Gaza persists.
The United States has sent military ships and planes to the area recently. On Thursday, a US official mentioned that approximately 900 US soldiers were being relocated to the area.
American military bases in the Middle East have been attacked in the past, and as a result, the United States has responded by launching counterattacks.
In March, the United States did many air attacks in eastern Syria against groups connected to Iran. They did this because a drone attack killed an American worker.