The killing of three American soldiers and hurting many more makes the situation worse in a region where tensions are already high. It also adds to the pressure on President Joe Biden.
This is the first time that American soldiers have been killed by enemy fire since the Israel-Gaza war started.
This is the first time that Washington has to make a difficult decision during the crisis. They need to decide where and how to attack Iran.
Washington will want to send a very clear message to Tehran because it thinks Tehran is responsible for the fires in many countries, like Lebanon and Yemen. However, it will also try to prevent making the situation worse by starting a cycle of attacks and counterattacks.
This moment feels like it was bound to happen. From middle of October, US army bases in Iraq and Syria keep getting attacked by groups supported by Iran. More and more US soldiers are getting hurt. The US has struck back at least eight times by attacking places in both countries. It was just a matter of time before American people died in this risky battlefield.
In his first reply, President Biden clearly stated who is responsible this time. The drone attack on Tower 22, a small post near Jordan’s border with Syria, was done by “extreme groups supported by Iran, who are active in Syria and Iraq. ”
Iran says it did not do it. The foreign ministry spokesman said that the groups Iran supports do not follow Iran’s orders when they make decisions about helping Palestine.
Iran’s friends in this area have all learned and been given weapons by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) or been told how to get weapons for themselves.
In recent years, a group of radical organizations in the “axis of resistance” have become closer, and the Israel-Gaza conflict has made this group stronger.
But every actor has its own power and ability to act, and its own goals and desires. In Iraq, a lot of the attacks seem to have been done by a group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Counterattacks are made harder because some of the people involved are also in Iraq’s military.
In the last few months, the US has attacked Iranian buildings in the area, like a training base in Syria and a place where they keep weapons.
This time, the goal is to target something that will hurt Iran a lot, to show that the US is strong in this area and at home.
During an election year, President Biden’s opponents are using this crisis to say he is not strong against Iran.
“It’s very hard and complicated,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, when talking to the BBC. “Every situation has results. ”
Out of all the options, attacking Iran directly is the most dangerous choice. This would be the first time Iran was attacked since a failed attempt in 1980 to rescue American hostages taken during the Iranian revolution.
The US last did something very serious against Iran four years ago. They used a drone to attack and kill top IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. He was said to have planned to kill American diplomats and soldiers in the region and was an important leader in creating this “axis of resistance”.
Joel Rayburn, a former US Special Envoy to Syria, said on the BBC’s Newshour programme that there needs to be something that will stop people from doing bad things, like the attack on Soleimani. If the person behind the attacks in Iran is not punished, the attacks will continue.
Iran has not attacked Israeli or American sites in response to the killing of its senior military leaders. They blame Israel for the assassinations. Iran is also facing pressure at home.
Earlier this month, for the first time, it attacked a place in Iraqi Kurdistan that it said was a base for Israel’s Mossad agency.
The US understands that it needs to show that it is taking action, and even more importantly, it needs to show that it is successful in its efforts.
Washington and its friends are in a difficult situation as the long and destructive war between Israel and Gaza continues, harming many innocent people and causing a lot of pain. Iran’s friends say they will keep fighting until there’s peace in Gaza, but Israel is still at war and won’t stop until Hamas is defeated and hostages are released.
Ain Al Asad air base is a military base for airplanes. Picture of something that was taken before.
Problems in the important shipping areas of the Red Sea are a warning sign. The US, with support from the UK and other countries, is leading a military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. However, the Houthis are still attacking ships in a very important sea passage for global trade.
It has made the Houthi rebels more determined and brought them to the focus of the whole world.
A new report from Western intelligence says that the Houthi group has lost about 30% of their weapons. However, the Houthis, who are very good at unconventional warfare and have been able to survive nearly 10 years of airstrikes led by Saudi Arabia, think that they are winning more than they are losing.
The Houthis and their Iran-backed friends are using this crisis to make themselves look good by supporting the Palestinians in their fight against Israel. The US is trying hard to put out many problems at the same time while there is fighting in Gaza.
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