US says strikes against Iran-backed militias are "beginning, not the end"

The US has warned it will keep targeting Iranian-aligned militants after it carried out two of its biggest waves of strikes since the Israel-Hamas war triggered hostilities across the Middle East.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on February 4 that a barrage of strikes against targets linked to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards and Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria on February 2 were “the beginning, not the end” of Washington’s response, The Financial Times reports.

The US launched those attacks — which hit 85 targets at seven facilities — after a drone strike on a base on the Jordanian-Syrian border killed three American soldiers last weekend. The Biden administration conducted a second wave of strikes on Saturday against Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been attacking merchant ships and US naval vessels in the Red Sea.

“We intend to take additional strikes and additional action to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, or people are killed,” Sullivan told US broadcaster NBC. “We do believe that the strikes had good effect in degrading the capabilities of these militia groups to attack us.”

The back-to-back assaults underlined how the Biden administration is stepping up its response to militant attacks against American forces and its interests in the region after the US soldiers were killed by a drone strike.

US President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he wants to avoid a full-blown regional conflict after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas sparked hostilities across the region. But the weekend strikes underscored the delicate balance Biden is trying to maintain as he seeks to use military deterrence and diplomacy to contain the hostilities.

Washington is under pressure to respond to the Iranian-aligned militant attacks but is calibrating its response to avoid a further escalation that would draw American troops deeper into combat.

Iranian-aligned militants have launched more than 160 rocket and drone strikes against US troops in Iraq and Syria since mid-October. There are about 2,500 US troops in Iraq and about 900 in Syria where they are deployed to prevent the resurgence of Isis, the jihadi group.

The Houthis, meanwhile, have mounted dozens of attacks against merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, severely disrupting traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

In a joint statement, the US, UK and six other nations said their “aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea”.

“But let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats,” the statement added.

A Houthi military spokesperson said on Sunday that the rebel group would not be deterred, adding that the strikes on Yemen would “not pass without a response and consequences”.

The US military said it launched another strike “in self-defence” in the early hours of Sunday against a Houthi anti-ship missile that was being prepared for launch.

The US has for weeks been responding to the myriad attacks by Iranian-aligned militants with targeted strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. But Friday’s strikes were by far its biggest assault of the past three months — and the first to target facilities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Iran and Iraq, which said 16 people, including civilians, were killed in Friday’s attacks, condemned the US action and warned it could trigger greater instability in the region.

Sullivan said the US did not have “any confirmation of any civilian casualties”.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on February 4 that the wave of US strikes over the weekend “contributes to chaos, insecurity and instability”.

Tehran has said the Islamic Republic does not want direct conflict with the US and Israel, or a regional war. Iran insists the militant groups it backs have been acting independently, but also praises their actions, while chastising Israel and the US.

Tehran has not reported any casualties in the US strikes or made any threats to respond.

“Iran’s strategic policy has been no war with the US, and it has definitely not changed,” said Mohammad Ali Abtahi, an Iranian former reformist vice-president.

Both the Houthis and the militants in Iraq and Syria are part of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance. They say their attacks are in response to Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 27,000 people, according to Palestinian officials.

Hizbollah, the Lebanese movement that is Iran’s most powerful proxy, has also exchanged almost daily fire with Israeli forces across Israel’s northern border amid fears those clashes could escalate into a full-blown conflict.

The Israel-Hamas war erupted after the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, according to Israel.

Emile Hokayem, director of regional security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the US was at risk of being stuck in a “cycle of tit for tat”.

He added that the US could still prevent this cycle leading to all-out war, but it would “overtime erode its position in the region, which we already see in Iraq”.

“Its enemies have options, space and time and can decide when to turn up the heat — they also have largely supportive constituencies outraged by the Gaza war,” Hokayem said. “The only way the US can end this cycle is to quickly move to a diplomatic track to end Israel’s war in Gaza.”