Pentagon: US is considering deterring Iran and its militias
The Pentagon asserted that the United States is considering deterring Iran and its militias.
Iran funds and arms militants that attack US interests, a Pentagon official said. “We’ve seen a continuance of attacks on our soldiers,” he continued, “and we have a clear pattern of Iranian training, financing, and arming of these militias that attack us.”
The government utilizes the idea of “protecting soldiers” to defend itself when Americans are attacked, according to a senior Pentagon official, adding that this is a natural right and that the question of defending US military and diplomatic buildings is part of the US-Iraqi talks.
John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson, reiterated that Iran should cease its backing for Iraqi militias. He stated that the US is concerned about the attacks in Iraq on its interests.
Earlier, security sources claimed that Iranian Revolutionary Guard leaders had given orders to Iraqi militias to attack US targets.
According to the sources, a senior leader in the Guard militia met with Iraqi factions in Baghdad a few days ago and gave them orders to carry out attacks, according to two Iraqi security sources who spoke to Reuters but declined to identify their identities.
Despite issuing directives, the IRGC authorities emphasized the importance of not exaggerating to avoid escalation, according to the report.
According to a senior local militia leader who was briefed on the meeting, the directives included hitting American sites in Syria and Iraq.
According to the agency’s sources, Hussein Taeb, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence, met with Iraqi militias to exert pressure on Washington, indicating that Iranian officials had given the militants maps of US military positions.
More than 40 attacks have targeted US interests in Iraq since the beginning of the year, including the embassy in Baghdad, Iraqi military bases with American personnel, and Baghdad and Erbil airports, as well as logistical convoys of the international coalition fighting ISIS, which is led by Washington.
Unmanned aircraft have recently become a source of concern for the alliance, as these flying machines can avoid the defenses that the US military has put in place to protect its forces from missile attacks.
