US prepares ‘weeks’ of strikes and cyber attacks on Iranian targets
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The Biden administration has signaled publicly and privately that the operation it is planning in response to the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops will be multi-faceted. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said it will be “multi-level” and the White House has said it will be “layered” — amid talk of possible attacks involving Iranian commercial interests, proxy groups with armed forces in Iraq and Syria, or cyber or cyber attacks. Other activities.
Officials told NBC News that it would also include Iranian targets outside Iran and would consist of both strikes and cyber operations, and that the response could take place over “weeks.” That suggests President Biden is not planning attacks on Iran’s territory, despite the insistence of some Republicans in Congress amid anger over 160 attacks on US forces in the region.
Biden told reporters at the White House that he has decided on a response, but his administration has not yet announced any plans, saying the US will respond at a time and place of its choosing. “I hold them responsible in the sense that they are providing the weapons to the people who did it,” Biden said at the White House when asked whether he holds Iran responsible.
Asked whether he held Tehran directly responsible, he said: “We will have those conversations.” But he also warned: “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East, that’s not what I’m looking for.”
On Tuesday evening, Iran’s U.N. envoy Amir Saeid Iranavani told reporters that providing a “strong response to enemies” attacking the country is “Iran’s fundamental policy,” according to a report in the state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency. He promised a “decisive response” to attacks on “Iranian territory, or its interests or citizens abroad.”
He claimed in a letter to the UN Security Council that Iran “is not responsible for the actions of any individual or group in the region” – despite the US pointing to decades of support for proxy groups that carry out attacks and for weapons depend on Tehran. , funds and training. Blinken added Monday: “We will respond decisively to any aggression, and we will hold those who attacked our troops accountable.”
That response could be multi-level, staged and sustained over time.” Aboard Air Force Once, national security spokesman John Kirby gave only an outline of what was being considered. ‘It’s entirely possible that you’ll see a multi-layered approach here – not just a single action, but potentially multiple actions.’
The Pentagon and White House have pointed to the Iran-backed militia Kata’ib Hezbollah, which is based in Iraq but has not yet made a final public decision. The group’s Secretary General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement on Tuesday: “While we announce the suspension of military and security operations against the occupying forces – to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government – we will thank our people continue to defend Gaza in other ways.”
