{"id":5281,"date":"2024-02-02T11:34:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T04:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/?p=5281"},"modified":"2024-02-02T11:36:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T04:36:06","slug":"us-approves-plan-to-strike-iranian-targets-in-syria-and-iraq-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/us-approves-plan-to-strike-iranian-targets-in-syria-and-iraq-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>TLDR<\/strong>: US plans targeted strikes in Syria, Iraq against Iranian threats, avoids direct conflict, amidst Middle East tensions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is a summary of a You Tube video &#8220;US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials say &#8221; by BBC News<br \/>\n<iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qUwmSsObGdU?si=uEvuiSUQ97ZCBfuF\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Key Takeaways:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>US Defense Secretary&#8217;s Press Conference:<\/strong> Following an attack in Jordan that killed three US service personnel, the Defense Secretary held a lengthy news conference, discussing a &#8220;dangerous moment in the Middle East&#8221; and issuing a lengthy apology for not informing the President about his hospital visit for prostate cancer treatment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Plan for Retaliatory Strikes:<\/strong> The US has approved a plan to conduct a series of retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, but not within Iranian territory, in response to the perceived threats and actions by Iran in the region.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iran&#8217;s Influence in the Middle East:<\/strong> The US views Iran as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, responsible for funding and supporting various groups in Syria and Iraq, implicating Iran in the weekend attack that resulted in American casualties.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoidance of Direct Conflict with Iran:<\/strong> The plan explicitly avoids strikes on Iranian soil to prevent a wider conflict, focusing instead on Iranian personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Messaging to Iran:<\/strong> The strikes are intended as a message to Iran and its proxies that the US will not tolerate actions against its personnel, aiming to deter further aggression without escalating into a broader conflict.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Concerns Over Escalation:<\/strong> There are concerns about potential escalation in the Middle East, especially with the Houthi rebels&#8217; activities in Yemen targeting ships linked to Israel, the US, and the UK, amidst the broader conflict involving Gaza.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strategic Timing and Execution:<\/strong> The strikes will be carried out &#8220;at a time of America&#8217;s choosing,&#8221; with considerations for weather and operational conditions to ensure precision and effectiveness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Transparency and Accountability Issues:<\/strong> The Defense Secretary&#8217;s non-disclosure of his health status and hospitalization brought up concerns about transparency and accountability within the administration, adding pressure on President Joe Biden during a sensitive period.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Military and Political Implications:<\/strong> The approval for strikes reflects a balance between responding decisively to aggression and maintaining restraint to avoid direct confrontation with Iran, signaling a nuanced approach to military engagement in the region.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bipartisan and International Observations:<\/strong> The situation has drawn attention both domestically within the US, among Congress members with varying views on Iran, and internationally, as allies and adversaries alike watch the US&#8217;s strategic decisions in the Middle East.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US plans targeted strikes in Syria, Iraq against Iranian threats, avoids direct conflict, amidst Middle East tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-43","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5283,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions\/5283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wam.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}