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RFL/RE – As heightened tensions in the Middle East lead to concerns of a broader regional conflict, the United States has blamed Iran-backed militants for an attack on a U.S. military base in Iraq, while Iran accused Israel of killing members of the Iranian military in Syria in an incident Tehran says will not go unanswered.
U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, said on January 20 that “multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in western Iraq targeting the Al-Assad Air Base,” which is one of the largest U.S. military bases in Iraq.
CENTCOM said most of the missiles were intercepted but some had hit the base, at which about 2,500 U.S. soldiers are currently stationed.
“A number of U.S. personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries,” CENTCOM said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “At least one Iraqi service member was wounded.”
The attack comes as Iran-backed proxies and partners have stepped up their strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria amid Israel’s ongoing war against Iran-backed Hamas — which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union — in the Gaza Strip.SEE ALSO:Iran Showcases Capabilities, Limits With Missile Strikes
Iranian officials have said that attacks by members of its “axis of resistance” against Israel and the West — including Hamas, Lebanese Hizballah, and Yemen’s Huthi rebels — will not cease until a cease-fire is worked out halting ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Iranian state media reporting on the CENTCOM statement described the attack as having been carried out by “Iraqi resistance” forces, while saying the Islamic republic has denied using proxy forces in the Middle East.
Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas after it and other Palestinian extremist groups carried out a deadly surprise assault on Israel on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
The resulting three months of war have left more than 20,000 Palestinians dead, according to observers. Iran, which fails to recognize Israel as a state and considers it one of its greatest enemies along with the United States, has positioned itself as one of the leading voices against Israel and for the Palestinian cause since the war in Gaza began.
Tehran has also accused Israel of involvement in twin bombings in Iran early this month despite the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, which Iran has fought in Syria and Iraq, claiming responsibility. Israel has denied any role in the bombings in the southeastern city of Kerman that killed nearly 100 people.
On January 15, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) carried out Iran’s longest-ever strike by firing multiple ballistic missiles into northwestern Syria to attack what it called “terrorist bases” of IS and other extremist groups.
The same day, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles into Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region that targeted what it claimed was a “spy headquarters” operated by Israel. Israel has not commented on the allegation.
On January 20, Iran accused Israel of striking a building in the Syrian capital, Damascus, used by the IRGC. The strike, according to the IRGC, killed five of its members.
Various media reported that a senior officer the IRGC’s elite foreign arm, the Quds Force, was among those killed, which reportedly included three Syrians, one Lebanese, and one Iraqi.
Reports also suggested a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Organization that took part in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 was killed.
Israel has not commented on the incident.
On January 20, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi threatened Israel with retaliation, saying it would not let the alleged attack go unanswered.
The next day, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf accused Israel of carrying out the attack in Syria in an act of “desperation” due to alleged battlefield defeats and embarrassment related to the Gaza war.
