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Iran issues a warning to the US over potentially targeting two cargo ships in the Mideast long suspected of serving as forwarding operating base for Iranian commandos, just after America and the United Kingdom launched a massive airstrike campaign against Yemens Houthi rebels.

The statement from Iran on the Behshad and Saviz ships appears to signal Tehrans growing unease over the US strikes in recent days in Iraq, Syria and Yemen targeting militias backed by the Islamic Republic.

The Behshad and Saviz are registered as commercial cargo ships with a Tehran-based company the US Treasury has sanctioned as a front for the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. The Saviz, then later the Behshad, have loitered for years in the Red Sea off Yemen, suspected of serving as spy positions for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

In the video statement by the Irans regular army, a narrator for the first time describes the vessels as floating armories.

The narrator describes the Behshad as aiding an Iranian mission to counteract piracy in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

However, Iran is not publicly known to have taken part in any of the recent campaigns against rising Somali piracy in the region off the back of the Houthi attacks.

The statement ends with a warning overlaid with a montage of footage of US warships and an American flag.

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Tehran issues threat to US against targeting two Iran-linked cargo ships in Red Sea - The Times of Israel

A series of important airstrikes on the evening of February 3 targeted the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. These are one of a series of rounds of airstrikes over the past month that are intended to stop the Houthi attacks on shipping.

So far, the Houthis have not been deterred. The new round of strikes come after the US also carried out strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Those strikes came after the militias killed three US soldiers in Jordan on January 27.

As part of ongoing international efforts to respond to increased Iranian-backed Houthi destabilizing and illegal activities in the region, on February 3 at approximately 11:30 p.m. (Sanaa time), US Central Command forces, alongside UK Armed Forces and with the support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted strikes against 36 Houthi targets at 13 locations in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen, US Central Command said on February 4.

The US also carried out other strikes on February 3, hitting six Houthi cruise missiles in Yemen. On February 4, in the morning, the US carried out another strike against an anti-ship missile that was prepared to launch. This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels, the US said.

The goal of the various strikes is to hit a bunch of sites in Yemen, such as underground storage facilities, command and control missile systems, UAV storage and operations sites, radars, and helicopters, CENTCOM has said. This will degrade their capabilities. The question now is whether the strikes will actually work. Iran does not appear deterred. Pro-government media in Iran has highlighted the strikes.

Fars News and Tasnim News both had articles on them on February 4. Tasnim News also says that a pro-Iranian group carried out an attack on US forces in Syria. The US likely sees the Yemen arena as separate from the Iraq/Syria arena.

However, they are linked. Iran sees them as linked. It can key in the groups in support of any of these countries to carry out attacks when it wants.

The challenge now for the US is to stop these attacks in Iraq, Syria, and off the coast of Yemen. So far, the precision air strikes, mostly targeting terrorist infrastructure, have not appeared to halt the threats by the Iranian-backed groups.

However, the strikes against missiles in Yemen before they were fired represent an attempt to pre-empt the Houthis. This is a good next step in trying to slow down and then end the attacks on shipping.

Continue reading here:
US airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthis shows resilience - The Jerusalem Post

Army carry team moves the transfer case containing the remains of service member killed in a drone attack in Jordan.Matt Rourke/AP

On Friday, the United States launched retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against targets linked to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Iranian-backed militant groups. The strikes have reportedly killed nearly 40 people, with more military operations expected to follow amidst growing tension in the Middle East and fears of a wider regional conflict. The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world, President Joe Biden said in a statement about the airstrikes. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.

Heres what we know so far:

Why did the US attack Iranian military targets?

The Friday airstrikes were conducted in response to a January 28 drone attack on US troops that killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens of others at a military outpost in Jordan. The US Department of Defense identified the service members as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett of Savannah, Georgia. The drone attack marked the first fatal assault by Iran-backed militias against US troops since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. This round of airstrikes follow US operations against Iran-aligned militant groups and an estimated 150 attacks by proxy forces against US bases in Iraq and Syria since October. Iran denied involvement in the drone attacks but a coalition of Iranian-backed militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility.

What was the result of the US airstrikes?

Eighty-five targets at seven locations in western Iraq and eastern Syria have been hit by the strikes, according to the US Central Command, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites, and other facilities. Theres been no communications with Iran since the attack, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday night. At least 23 pro-Iran militants have been killedin eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

What has Iran done in response and what are other countries saying?

Irans Foreign Ministry condemned the airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, calling them violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of those countries. The attack last night on Syria and Iraq is an adventurous action and another strategic mistake by the American government which will have no result other than increasing tensions and destabilizing the region, said Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry. Prior to the attack, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had said the country would not start any war, but if anyone wants to bully us they will receive a strong response; afterward, Yahya Rasool, a spokesperson for the Iraqi army, said the strikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, posing a threat that will pull Iraq and the region to undesirable consequences. Notably, Iran has refrained from threatening to retaliate.

Read the rest here:
What We Know So Far About the Brewing US-Iran Conflict Mother Jones - Mother Jones

In the hours before the United States carried out strikes against Iran-backed militants on Friday, Washington hit Tehran with more familiar weapons: sanctions and criminal charges.

The Biden administration imposed sanctions on officers and officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Irans premier military force, for threatening the integrity of water utilities and for helping manufacture Iranian drones. And it unsealed charges against nine people for selling oil to finance the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

The timing seemed designed to pressure the Revolutionary Guards and its most elite unit, the Quds Force, at a moment of extraordinary tension in the Middle East. Although the sanctions have been brewing for some time and the charges were filed earlier under seal, the region has been in turmoil for months.

The actions are part of a coordinated governmentwide effort to disrupt Irans efforts to use illicit oil sales to fund terrorism, and to push back on the countrys increasingly capable offensive cyberoperations. In the 15 years since the United States mounted a major cyberattack on Irans nuclear facilities, the country has trained a generation of hackers and struck back at Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States, among others. Two American officials said the United States conducted cyberoperations against Iranian targets on Friday but declined to provide details.

The effects of sanctions and indictments are hard to measure. Few Iranian officers or officials keep assets in Western banks or travel to the United States, meaning the sanctions may have little practical effect. While the indictments and sanctions have a psychological element, demonstrating to Iranians and their business associates around the world that Western intelligence agencies are often tracking their movements and their transactions, actual arrests and trials are infrequent.

The reason that we bring these cases is, we know that the money Iran obtains from the illicit sale of oil is used to fund its malign activities around the world, Matthew G. Olsen, who heads the national security division of the Justice Department, said on Friday. The threats posed by Iran and the destabilizing effects of its actions have only come into sharper relief since the attacks of Oct. 7, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel that killed roughly 1,200 people.

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U.S. Hits Back at Iran With Sanctions, Criminal Charges and Airstrikes - The New York Times

WASHINGTON Meeting privately with national security aides this week, President Joe Biden raised a question, two people briefed on the discussion said: If he ordered military action to avenge the deaths of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, would that jeopardize the delicate talks over the release of American hostages in Gaza?

When aides eased such concerns, he decided that he would proceed with retaliatory measures, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the presidents calculus.

Biden settled on a counterattack plan that is expected to unfold over multiple days, possibly weeks, U.S. officials told NBC News.

American forces are expected to hit targets in different countries outside Iran in response to the drone strike by Iranian-backed militants, which also injured more than 30 service members, U.S. officials said.

The operation, which officials say hasnt begun, figures to be Biden's most forceful response yet to militia groups that have launched more than 150 attacks against U.S. forces since the war between Israel and Hamas started Oct. 7.

It's also among the biggest and riskiest tests that Biden has faced. He must keep the war from escalating but also respond to the attack in Jordan in a way that deters future assaults and signals to Americas enemies that they cant kill U.S. forces with impunity.

Complicating matters further, Biden is up for re-election and eager to avoid any impression that he is a weak commander in chief whom adversaries can intimidate.

It's a tough balance to maintain in a fast-moving conflict. Any counterattack that destroys Iranian assets or kills Iranian-backed militia fighters risks a tit-for-tat response that could draw the U.S. deeper into the sort of Middle East quagmire that has bedeviled presidents for decades.

It is probably the most important moment in his presidency, said Brett Bruen, who was the director of global engagement in the Obama White House. If he can apply a set of military strikes that push back Iranian efforts to destabilize the region and also avoid a war with Iran, that will be a strong proof point for his re-election. If he can thread that needle through the next few months, were going to hear that refrain on the campaign trail.

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has looked to capitalize on the crisis, posting on his social media site that the drone attack arose from Bidens weakness and surrender.

Trumps statement drew a fierce response from Biden allies.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wrote on X that the deaths of U.S. service members are NEVER something to politicize. We should be focused on holding those responsible for this attack accountable, keeping our troops safe, and avoiding a war in the Middle East.

Its doubtful that Trump would applaud anything Biden did. But some conservatives whove broken with Trump contend that the Biden administrations muted response to smaller attacks by Iranian-linked militias invited the lethal assault that killed the three service members.

Biden ordered strikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria in reprisal for previous attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, describing them as proportionate in scale. Yet John Bolton, a national security adviser in the Trump White House who has become a sharp critic of Trump, likened them to pinpricks" that werent sufficient to deter Iranian aggression.

You cant leave Americans vulnerable and say were only going to wait until they are dead before we do anything, Bolton said in an interview.

He suggested taking more aggressive action that would ratchet up the cost to Iran, including sinking Iranian ships in the Red Sea and attacking Irans secretive Quds Force units in the western part of Iran.

The point is you need to make them feel pain, Bolton said.

Voters typically focus on the economy in election years, with foreign policy a second-tier concern. But Bidens support for Israel in the war with Hamas has caused fissures in his political base and focused attention on the aid he is providing to Israel as it tries to rout Hamas.

Biden has called upon Israeli leaders to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza and ensure that more humanitarian aid gets to the people whove lost their homes and livelihoods during Israels offensive.

He isnt backing off his support for Israel, however. During a fundraising swing through Florida this week, he told guests that he believes that without Israel, Jews wouldnt be safe in the world, two people familiar with his remarks said in interviews.

Nor is he hiding his differences with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israels conduct of the war. Biden told the attendees at a recent fundraiser that when he met with Netanyahu in Israel after the war began, he saw a picture of the two of them together. Jokingly, he asked Netanyahu whether he puts the picture up when Biden arrives and takes it down as soon as he leaves, the people said.

Republicans see the growing Middle East tensions as a vulnerability for Biden in the coming election. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, put out a statement after the drone attack that faulted the Biden administration for its failure to respond to previous attacks."

Yet Trump had his own struggles with calming the region and protecting U.S. troops on his watch.

More than 100 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in January 2020 the start of Trumps final year in office when Iran fired missiles at two bases in Iraq.

That attack was in response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force. The U.S. assassination of Soleimani, in turn, followed an attack by Iranian proxies in Iraq that killed a U.S. contractor and injured four service members.

The year before, Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in what American officials said was international airspace. Trump prepared to retaliate against Iranian targets but backed off at the last minute, saying killing Iranians over the loss of an uncrewed drone would be a disproportionate response.

Overall, through three years of Bidens term, about 16 U.S. service members have died as a result of hostile action, according to statistics provided by the Defense Department. By contrast, 50 died at a similar point in Trumps term. (Biden ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan during the first year of his term, pulling U.S. troops out of the country. Thirteen service members died in an attack as the U.S. was completing its withdrawal.)

Attempts by far-right congressional Republicans to politicize our national security are illogical and detrimental to our safety and security, said Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman. In fact, these Republican officials never criticized the previous administration whenthe same militias attacked American troops, including in 2020.

Read the original post:
Biden weighs how the response to Iran could affect Israel-Hamas negotiations and his own political fate - NBC News