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Middle East militias with ties to Iran have attacked U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria at least 23 times since Hamas launched its rampage from the Gaza Strip resulting in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals.
From Oct. 17 to Oct. 30, U.S. and coalition forces were attacked at least 14 times in Iraq and nine times in Syria. On Monday, a senior Defense Department official said the strikes were from a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.
“Many of these attacks were successfully disrupted by our military,” the official told reporters. “Most failed to reach their target thanks to our robust defenses.”
Biden administration officials have tried to separate the strikes against U.S. forces, deployed to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State terror group, with Israel’s war against Hamas. Tehran and its regional allies have wanted to force U.S. troops out of the Middle East well before the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel, the Defense Department official said.
“We have maintained tens of thousands of forces across the region for decades,” the official said. “Most of these attacks have been unsuccessful, but Iran’s strategic objective has not changed.”
On Thursday, the U.S. struck two supply facilities in eastern Syria used by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel and its proxy groups.
While the Biden administration insists the attacks against U.S. troops aren’t linked to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Iran’s government said the groups making the attacks wanted the Americans to leave. On Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, told reporters in Tehran that America’s involvement with Israel and Arab Middle East states was at the heart of the attacks.
“You reap what you sow,” Mr. Kanaani said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. “Supporting tension in the region will lead to reactions. This is something we have stated many times in our official positions and messages.”
Iran provides military and financial support to Hamas but denies it had any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attacks.
Michael Makovsky, with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America think tank in Washington, said the Biden administration’s response to attacks on U.S. troops by Iranian-allied forces has been too little, too late.
“We’ve responded five times [and] they’ve been meek responses. The Iranians aren’t afraid of us,” Mr. Makovsky told Fox News on Sunday. “If we want to contribute to a more stable Middle East and also signal to people back home where we stand, I think it’s very important the president get very tough on Iran.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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