“This is just the beginning”: The US hinted at military strikes to Iran

US airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in the Middle East were just the beginning of a sustained response, the White House national security adviser warned on Sunday, refusing to rule out strikes on Iranian soil, The Guardian writes.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday night’s strikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, carried out in retaliation for the killing of three American soldiers, “were the beginning, not the end, of our response, and … there will be more steps, some visible , some perhaps unseen, all in an attempt to send a very clear message that when American troops are attacked, when Americans are killed, we will respond, and we will respond forcefully.”

Speaking on NBC the day after separate overnight US and British airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Sullivan three times rejected the possibility of ruling out strikes on Iran itself, which would be a major escalation that the US has so far been determined to avoid.

Senior Iraqi government figures, many close to Tehran, have called for an end to the presence of US troops in their country, saying Washington is bringing the region to the “brink of the abyss”. The US strikes are due to be discussed at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday in New York. US diplomats are expected to say the strikes are in self-defense and that US troops are in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading to the region on Sunday, his fifth trip since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. He must make another attempt to secure an agreement to release hostages and remove obstacles to aid delivery to Gaza as the war enters its fifth month.

Iran, for its part, warned the US against any action against the Iranian-flagged Behshad, which is in the Red Sea and is suspected by the US of providing surveillance information to help the Houthis launch land-based cruise missile strikes against commercial shipping in the area.

Tehran said the ship was “deployed to the Red Sea in official coordination with the International Maritime Organization to ensure the safety of Iranian ships from pirates.” Any attack on the ship would put those who take such steps at risk, Iran said.

The Iranian warning came after a third wave of US and British strikes hit 36 ​​Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday night, prompting the Tehran-backed militant group to vow to continue attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The attack was supported by six other countries, including Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain. The US said the strikes hit 13 sites across Yemen and hit underground weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launch sites and other sites used by the Houthis to attack shipping in the Red Sea.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday evening that the strikes were carried out in self-defence and that he would not hesitate to “protect British lives”.

Speaking during a visit to Northern Ireland, he said: “Since the last series of strikes, we have seen the Houthis continue to attack shipping in the Red Sea. This is obviously unacceptable. It is illegal. This puts innocent lives at risk and has economic consequences. This, by the way, includes attacks on ships associated with the UK. And that is why we again acted in self-defense, proportionately and together with our allies. “I have made clear that I will not hesitate to defend British lives, British interests, and our diplomatic efforts are focused on returning de-escalation and stability to the region.”

The broader strategic conflict pits the US, which is trying to pressure Tehran to rein in its allied forces across the region, against Iran, which is determined to help those forces pressure the US to leave the region and to keep Hamas out. destroyed in Gaza.

However, neither Washington nor Tehran want to slide into direct conflict, notes The Guardian. Tehran set a red line by ordering the US not to launch any direct attacks on Iranian soil, a policy favored by many US Republicans.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “This collective action sends a clear signal to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not cease their unlawful attacks on international shipping and naval vessels.”

His British counterpart Grant Shapps said: “Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea are unlawful and unacceptable, and it is our duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation. This is why the Royal Air Force launched a third wave of proportionate and targeted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. This is not an escalation. We have already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks, and I am confident that our latest strikes have further weakened Houthi capabilities.”

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said the strikes “will not go unanswered and without consequences.” The Houthis said there were 48 strikes, including 13 in the capital Sanaa.

Military and diplomatic experts disagree on whether the strikes will undermine the Houthis’ military and political base along the Red Sea coast and in the north of the country, including Sanaa. The group, which is armed and advised by Iran but is not a full-blown client agent, believes it has gained credibility in the Middle East by taking the lead in acting in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

The Houthis’ actions are successfully deterring commercial shipping from using one of the world’s busiest waterways, increasing transport costs and insurance premiums, The Guardian emphasizes.

The strikes in Yemen come alongside Washington’s ongoing retaliation for repeated attacks on US military bases in Iraq, Jordan and Syria. The first wave of attacks on Friday hit targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the militias it supports, reportedly killing about 40 people.

The strikes in Iraq, which the Pentagon has been telegraphing for a week, appear to have killed no Iranian military advisers and were largely aimed at ammunition depots of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of militias operating there.

Sullivan said he was not ready to provide details on the damage to the US at this stage.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji said: “This aggressive strike will bring security in Iraq and the region to the brink of the abyss, and it also contradicts efforts to establish the necessary stability.”

Araji met last week with Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s special envoy Abu Idriss al-Sharafi as both sides “affirmed that the war in Gaza is causing escalation in the region and its continuation is dragging the region into war with dire consequences. The war must end and the suffering of the Palestinian people must end.”

Within hours of the US strikes, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it had struck three US bases in Syria and Iraq, including the At-Tanf base in the border triangle between Jordan, Iraq and Syria, and another base in Erbil, on northern Iraq.