Pentagon blames Iran for attacks on US troops

The White House expressed alarm over the possibility for an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza and accused Iran of “actively facilitating” assaults against US outposts in the Middle East.

The conclusions obtained by the United States, France, and Canada are consistent with those of Britain.

“Iran continues to support Hamas and Hezbollah, and we know that Iran is closely monitoring these events and in some cases, actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good or for that of Iran,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House.

“We know Iran’s goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we’re not going to allow them to do that,” Kirby added.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon stated on Monday in response to an increase in attacks in Iraq and Syria by organisations that are thought to be supported by Iran that the US has not received a direct instruction from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to attack US troops in the area.

Since the Israel-Gaza conflict broke out on October 7 when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, US personnel have been frequently threatened by missiles and drones.

“We don’t necessarily see that Iran has explicitly ordered them to take these kinds of attacks,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

Pressed on the issue, Ryder added: “We haven’t seen a direct order, for example, from the Supreme Leader saying: ‘Go out and do this.'”

Ryder, however, said that the United States ultimately holds Iran responsible for such attacks by militant groups “by virtue of the fact that they are supported by Iran.”

Iranian security officials told Reuters that the Islamic Republic’s plan was for Middle East allies like Hezbollah to launch limited attacks on Israeli and US targets while avoiding a major escalation that would involve Tehran, a precarious balancing act for the Islamic State.

Senior Biden administration officials issued warnings on Sunday, including Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, about the possibility of a dramatic uptick in attacks on American forces in the Middle East and Iran’s efforts to prolong the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Austin sent fresh air defences to the Middle East over the weekend to protect troops.

According to him, the Pentagon will send extra Patriot air defence missile system battalions as well as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to the area.

In an effort to prevent Iran and parties with Iranian support from escalating the battle, the United States has also dispatched warships and fighter jets to the area. In addition, two aircraft carriers and roughly 2,000 Marines would be sent out.

“No one wants to see a wider regional conflict, but we will not hesitate to protect our forces,” Ryder said.

In the most recent incident, two attack drones targeted US forces in Syria on Monday, but they were stopped by base defences without harming anyone.

Last week, US forces engaged numerous drones that were aiming at US troops in Iraq; some of these drones caused minor injuries. Additionally, a US warship destroyed more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles launched by Houthi rebels with Iranian support off the coast of Yemen.

US forces are always on high alert as a result of the rising tensions. A civilian contractor had a heart arrest on Thursday at the Iraqi airbase Al-Asad during a false alert.

(With agency inputs)