Iran ramps up attacks on US forces in Middle East
The US has intelligence that Iranian-backed militia groups are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East, as Iran seeks to capitalize on the backlash in the region to US support for Israel, according to multiple US officials.
The militia groups have already launched multiple drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria.
But the US now has specific intelligence that those same groups could escalate even further as the war between Israel and Hamas continues.
There are “red lights flashing everywhere,” a US official in the region told CNN.
Officials said that at this point, Iran appears to be encouraging the groups rather than explicitly directing them. One official said Iran is providing guidance to the militia groups that they will not be punished – by not getting resupplied with weaponry, for example – if they continue to attack US or Israeli targets.
On Monday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said there is “a very direct connection between these groups” and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and he said the US is “deeply concerned about the potential of any significant escalation of these attacks in the days ahead.”
A senior defense official echoed that concern on Monday.
“We see a prospect for much more significant escalation against US forces and personnel in the near term,” the official said. “And let’s be clear about it. The road leads back to Iran. Iran funds, arms, equips and trains militias and proxy forces all across the region. … We are preparing for this escalation, both in terms of defending our forces and being prepared to respond decisively.”...
I suspect Iran may have other motives as Israel continues to pound Hamas targets in Gaza and suffers significant losses in Israel's preparations for invading Gaza. Hamas has recently offered the release of some of its hostages in return for a cease-fire.
See, also:
Victor Davis Hanson: Hamas in ‘No Way’ Would Have Invaded Israel under Trump
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Speaking on former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia John Anderson’s “Conversations” podcast Wednesday, Dr. Hanson suggested that “to his credit,” former President Donald Trump demonstrated American deterrence and determination through his assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and destruction of the Islamist terror group ISIS.
In response, “Iran did not do anything,” and “there would be no way Hamas was doing this between 2017 and January of 2021,” he argued. “They had a small war, but they never did anything like this.”
...
According to Hanson, additional countries would have also been deterred under a Trump presidency.
“I don’t think Vladimir Putin would have gone into Ukraine, and I don’t think that China would have sent a balloon,” he said, attributing that to Trump’s reputation for being “unpredictable” and the nations’ conviction it would be a “dangerous thing” to tempt the United States.
...
In addition, he highlighted how President Trump was warned against moves that would unleash mayhem, yet his unyielding approach proved to be most effective:
Everybody said if you move the embassy to Jerusalem, if you say that the Golan Heights shall be Israeli, if you cut off the $700 million to the Palestinians, if you say that you’re not going to give one dime to [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] — you can’t do that.
“And he did it all, and nothing happened,” he added. “And that was because we were strong and reliable. And I think we’ll be that way again.”
According to Hanson, if America projects strength, her allies “can be assured that they don’t have to go out on a limb.”
...
I agree. I think Biden's disastrous bug-out from Afghanistan triggered both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Iran's messing with Israel. It was a sign of weakness that adversaries have sought to exploit.
And:
Palestinian refugees are a risk America can’t afford to take
Following the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel and the ensuing outbreak of another war in the Middle East, influential people in Washington, D.C., are already calling for the U.S. to take in Palestinian refugees.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
...
Palestinians voted Hamas into office and many US Palestinians already support Hamas's attack on Israel.
And:
Thousands in Muslim countries and beyond demonstrate over Israeli airstrikes
People from any country that supports Hamas should not be eligible to migrate to the US. They would be a threat to US national security and world peace.
And:
President Joe Biden has reportedly sent a small number of high-level United States military officers to Israel, including James Glynn, a three-star Marine Corps lieutenant general. Glynn previously commanded the Marine Corps’s special operations unit and led Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalitional war against the Islamic State, from July 2017 to July 2018.
...
And:
The Palestinian PM must know something about his own murder machine that led a brutal attack against Israeli non-combatants in a mass murder splurge.
And:
Say what? There are few better words to describe what Hamas did in Israel.
And:
*** WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT *** Horror: IDF Screens Raw Footage of Hamas Terror Attack for Media
Video captured some of Hamas's barbarity.
And:
And:
Joe Biden and this White House are responsible for tens of billions of dollars flowing into Iran—and much of that money has gone to Hamas and Hezbollah. Under President Trump, we crippled Iran’s economy by enforcing oil sanctions. Joe Biden stopped enforcing sanctions. This has led to where we are today.
And:
‘Iran is testing us’ U.S. military with attacks, ‘our deterrence is based on our ability to respond’
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