TEHRAN, Iran – The recent U.S. strikes on Iran-backed militant resources and facilities in Iraq and Syria have sparked a tense exchange between Iranian and Iraqi officials, leading to warnings of potential further escalation in the region.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, criticized the attack, stating that it will only lead to increased tensions and instability in the region. Furthermore, he called the strikes a “strategic mistake” from the Biden administration.
The strikes resulted in casualties, with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces reporting 16 members killed in Iraq and 23 in Syria. Additionally, civilian casualties were reported, raising concerns about the impact of the strikes.
While the Biden administration claimed to have informed Baghdad before the strikes, Iraqi government spokesman Basem Al-Awadi refuted this, calling it an unfounded claim designed to mislead international public opinion.
In response to the strikes, the Iraqi government expressed alarm, warning that the security situation in Iraq and the region could be pushed to the “brink of the abyss.”
The tense situation highlights the delicate balance that the United States must maintain in the region, especially after hitting targets connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The strikes were carried out in retaliation to a deadly Iran-backed attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that resulted in the deaths of three American troops. The White House has indicated that these strikes are just the first in a series of responses, with plans for additional action to put an end to the attacks.
The U.S. officials have clarified that their goal is to stop the attacks and that they are not seeking a wider war with Iran. They also defended their choice of targets, stating that they were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and were based on clear evidence of their connection to attacks on U.S. personnel in the region. The Department of Defense is still assessing the damage from the strikes.