US carries airstrikes targeting Syria's militia-controlled areas: ‘Not seeking conflict’

The United States said that on early Wednesday, the nation's military conducted airstrikes in eastern Syria that were directed at militia strongholds supported by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. According to a statement from US Central Command (USCENTCOM), the 'precision' airstrikes were carried out in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, at US President Joe Biden's order. Further, the statement added that the infrastructural facilities utilised by organisations connected to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were the focus of the US airstrikes. 

Colonel Joe Buccino, the Communication Director of USCENTCOM, said, “These precision strikes are intended to defend and protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on August 15 against U.S. personnel by Iran-backed groups.” 

US airstrikes in Syria

Buccino even noted that to reduce the likelihood of deaths and the possibility of an escalation, the United States adopted proportionate, careful measures. He further highlighted that the US President granted the order for these actions in accordance with his Article II authority to defend as well as protect US personnel by thwarting or preventing assaults by organisations with ties to Iran. 

In the statement, the Communication Director said, “The United States does not seek conflict, but will continue to take necessary measures to protect and defend our people.” To guarantee the long-term defeat of ISIS, American soldiers are still present in Syria, he stressed.  

According to the Associated Press report, Deir Ez-Zor is an important province with oil reserves that borders Iraq. The region is governed by militias supported by Iran and Syrian forces, who have frequently been struck by Israeli warplanes in the past. In order to support coalition troops in their struggle against the Islamic State organisation, American forces entered Syria in 2015. 

Iranian operative charged with plotting to kill Ex-US NSA

Meanwhile, the Justice Department on August 10 stated that an Iranian operative has been charged with plotting to assassinate former US national security advisor John Bolton in presumed retribution for a US airstrike that claimed the life of the nation's most senior general, offering $300,000 to “eliminate” the Trump administration official, Associated Press reported.   

The FBI is presently looking for Shahram Poursafi on suspicions linked to the murder-for-hire conspiracy. Notably, Shahram Poursafi has been recognised by US officials as a member of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. 

The plan, according to the prosecutors, began over a year after Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force and the mastermind behind Tehran's Middle Eastern proxy wars, was killed in a targeted airstrike as he was travelling from Baghdad's international airport in January 2020. 

As stated in an affidavit that was revealed on August 10, the FBI believes that Poursafi was operating on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard when he attempted to have Bolton assassinated. 

(Image: AP)