US launches air attacks on Iranian backed sites

 USA Today:

The Pentagon says U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strikes came in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week. In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, President Joe Biden warned Iran to "be careful" and not exploit Israel's war with Hamas to create a wider Middle East conflict. But the White House has treaded carefully to separate the Iranian-backed militia strikes - and subsequent U.S. response - from the Israel's fighting in Gaza.
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See, also:

 Iran is now flirting with its own destruction

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The only suggestion that Iran, and its Hezbollah allies in southern Lebanon, had helped with the planning of the assault was the admission by Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, that the money the terror group had received from Tehran had been central to its ability to develop the terrorist infrastructure that was used to devastating effect against Israel.

But Tehran’s reticence about claiming the credit for organising the worst terrorist attack the Jewish state has suffered in its history certainly does not apply to its other activities in the region. They appear to be a deliberate attempt to provoke a broader escalation in the conflict.

Apart from maintaining its financial support for Hamas, which is said to be worth $100 million a year, Iran has been accused of instigating border clashes in northern Israel between Hezbollah and the Israeli military. Iran’s efforts to maintain its supply lines to Hezbollah through the network of military bases it has established in neighbouring Syria has led to Israel conducting a series of air strikes against Iranian targets in the country.

Meanwhile, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have been accused of attacking bases held by the US and its allies, while attempts by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to open a new front prompted the US military to shoot down a number of missiles and drones directed towards Israel.

And, in the latest example of Tehran’s determination to deepen the pressure on Israel, pro-Western Arab security officials claim that Iran has set up a complex network to smuggle weapons into the West Bank, with the aim of opening up a new Palestinian front against Israel’s security forces.

All this activity was taking place while the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, was warning Israel earlier this week that the Middle East could spiral out of control if it does not stop strikes on Gaza.

The reason that Iran has been so busy encouraging its complex network of militias and terrorist organisations to target Israel and its allies is that Tehran knows it cannot afford a direct confrontation with Israel. To do so would risk the Israelis implementing their long-held plan to destroy Iran’s prized nuclear assets, which most Western intelligence experts believe are aimed at developing nuclear weapons.

For all the ayatollahs’ bluster, they realise that they are no match for Israel’s military might, especially at a time when Washington has deployed two powerful aircraft carrier battle groups to the region as a gesture of solidarity with its Israeli ally. Instead, they have turned to the terror groups they sponsor throughout the region – groups that the West has allowed to flourish despite having tangible proof of Tehran’s malign intent.
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And:

 Broken Lebanon cannot afford war, and Hezbollah knows it

And:

 Iran is stepping up its shadow war with Israel to boost its clout — but it could backfire

Amid the war between Israel and Hamas, US officials warned this week that Iran-backed militias were planning to step up attacks on US bases in the Middle East.

There are "red lights flashing everywhere," a US official in the region told CNN.
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And:

 A colossal Israel-Iran war is much closer than anyone imagines

And:

 Pentagon Sending 900 US Troops to Middle East

And:

 Senator Ted Cruz

@SenTedCruz

For over 2 years, Joe Biden’s White House has gifted Iran billions.

Now after the attacks on Israel, they say Israel has the support of the US.

But they're still not enforcing sanctions or cutting funding to Iran and Hamas-controlled Gaza.

They are funding the missiles, drones, and arms that are killing Israelis and Americans.