Orientul Mijlociu

The United States’ opening salvo in response to the attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops last week included attacks against targets in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

The U.S. response is expected to be multi-tiered and unfold over weeks, targeting an array of groups that form part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance,” including militias in Iraq and Syria that operate under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Three US troops have been killed and 25 injured in a drone attack on a US base, the US military said.

US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement the casualties were caused by a drone attack at a base in northeast Jordan, near the Syria border. Jordan on the other hand, said the attack happened on Syrian territory.

The attack on Sayyida Zeinab occurred shortly after a Syrian passenger plane arrived from Baghdad at Damascus International Airport, according to Sawt al-Asima.

A site near the town of Sayyida Zeinab in Damascus countryside was reportedly targeted by Israeli shelling on Monday, January 29th. According to Sawt al-Asima sources, the attack focused on a farm close to the Rawda Hotel, less than one kilometre from where Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Reza Mousavi was killed in late December. The farm is allegedly used by IRGC for meetings with affiliated militia leaders and as temporary accommodation.

US networks report plan for sustained campaign against Iranian oversea assets, citing White House officials

The US will seek a “Goldilocks” retaliation against Iran by striking its assets abroad in a campaign calibrated to restore deterrence while mitigating escalation risks, according to military sources and current and former officials.

On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that at 9:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) its forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on U.S. service members, killing an Iran-backed Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.[1] Media sources affiliated with the Iran-backed militias in Iraq reported that several operatives from the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) were killed, including a senior leaders of the Hizbullah Brigades (which is part of the PMU) Wisam Muhammad Saber aka Abu Baqir Al-Sa’idi and also an official by the name of Hajj Arkan Al-‘Alyawi.[2]

In a February 4, 2024 interview on Fox News, former U.S. President Donald Trump said that in January 2020, Iran had informed his administration of its intention to attack the Ain Al-Assad Air Base in Iraq but without causing casualties. The attack was to be a response to the U.S. killing of IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020.

Iran has long backed a network of armed groups in the Middle East to advance its regional interests. These groups, which include U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and which sometimes style themselves the “Axis of Resistance,” have conducted attacks on U.S., Israeli, and other targets for years. The number, pace, and scope of such attacks have surged since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel from Gaza and in the context of the subsequent Israel-Hamas war.

Given that the U.S. presence is vital for the survival of the AANES, the prospect of withdrawal leaves the entire issue uncertain Akil Mahfouz writes in Athr Press.

Iran aims to reinforce its forces in its areas of presence in Syria, according to Baladi News.

Informed sources have disclosed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard militias have withdrawn thousands of Syrian members affiliated with them from the Aleppo governorate. These members were relocated to positions in the governorates of Hama, Deir-ez-Zor, and Homs.

Iranian religious scholar Hamed Jadidi, a member of the Esfahan Basij cultural-social network said that Iran will “inshallah” conquer Saudi Arabia soon in a January 30, 2024 event in preparation for the upcoming elections, which was aired on IRINN TV (Iran). He said that Saudi Arabia is collaborating with the Zionists and that it asked China to mediate between it and Iran so the Houthis in Yemen wouldn’t attack them. Jadidi continued to claim that the Zionists orchestrated the coronavirus “super-project” so people would take the “Zionist vaccine,” like Pfizer, and implant nanochips into their body. He further explained that these nanochips would be activated through 5G networks and artificial intelligence, and this way the Zionists would have control over human beings.