Three US soldiers were killed and 40 wounded in an attack on a US military installation in Jordan on 28 January.
Iran was singled out as indirectly responsible and US President Joe Biden promised to “respond” to the attack.
Attacked 85 targets
Now the US military says it has attacked 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, all linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iran-backed militant groups. The attacks are the first in a series of expected counterattacks.
– Our response began today. We will continue when and where we wish, Joe Biden said in a statement after the attacks on Friday night.
Risk of escalation
According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the American attacks have been carried out against targets in the eastern part of Syria. According to the news agency AP, among other things, targets in the region of Dayr al-Zor (Deir Ezzor) in Syria have been hit.
The crisis in the Middle East now risks escalating further. The US has previously attacked the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen, which in turn has attacked merchant ships in the Red Sea.
– The US does not seek conflict with the Middle East or any other part of the world. But to those who try to hurt us, I want to say: if you hurt an American, we will respond.
The US Treasury Department announced on Friday that additional sanctions are being imposed on representatives of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, writes AFP.