Israel-Hamas War: US approves strikes on Iran ‘personnel and facilities’

Plans have been approved for the US military to launch a series of strikes targeting Iranian “personnel and facilities” in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the death of three American troops.

US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the weather would determine when the strikes would begin, adding the attacks “won’t be a one-off”.

It comes after the White House officially blamed the drone attack on a US base in Jordan as being launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella of Iran-backed militias like Kataib Hezbollah.

US officials told CBS News the military was waiting for improved weather before launching the strikes in an effort to minimise civilian casualties due to poor visibility.

Iran threatened to “decisively respond” if the US attacked the Islamic Republic to retaliate for Sunday’s attack on Tower 22, which killed three and injured more than 40.

“[US President Joe Biden] believes that it is important to respond in an appropriate way,” said National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby.

“The first thing you see won’t be the last thing … it won’t be a one-off.”

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US STRIKES YEMEN

A new explosion was reported off Yemen after overnight US strikes targeted 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

The explosion, reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, happened near a vessel west of the port city of Hodeida.

No damage to the ship or injuries to the crew was reported.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which followed a flurry of missile strikes by the Huthis who have harassed Red Sea shipping for months, triggering reprisal attacks by the United States and Britain.

Early Thursday in Yemen, US forces targeted a “Huthi UAV ground control station and 10 Huthi one-way UAVs” that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region”, a CENTCOM statement said, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.

CENTCOM earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Huthis towards the Gulf of Aden, and that three Iranian drones were downed less than an hour later.

US DOWNS IRAN AIRCRAFT

American forces carried out strikes in Yemen against 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, the US military said.

A US warship also shot down an anti-ship missile fired by the Huthis and later downed three Iranian drones, Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

While the United States has recently launched strikes on the Huthis and other Tehran-supported groups in the region, both it and Iran have sought to avoid a direct confrontation, and the downing of three Iranian drones could heighten tensions.

Early on Thursday local time, US forces targeted a “Huthi UAV ground control station and 10 Huthi one-way UAVs” that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.

With AFP

Originally published as Israe-Hamas War: US approves strikes on Iran ‘personnel and facilities’