US security advisor does not rule out action inside Iran
Shafaq News/ On Sunday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed Washington's intention to conduct additional strikes on Iraqi and Syrian territories, emphasizing that Friday's strikes are not the conclusion of the actions.
In an interview with NBC News, Sullivan did not rule out strikes inside Iran after the US launched airstrikes Friday targeting pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan's base.
"I'm not going to get into what we've ruled in and ruled out from the point of view of military action…What I will say is that the president is determined to respond forcefully to attacks on our people. The president also is not looking for a wider war in the Middle East." The US Advisor told NBC.
On Friday, the US military launched airstrikes on dozens of sites related to Iranian-backed forces and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) in Iraq and Syria.
The Iraqi authorities reported that the targeting killed at least 16 people, including civilians, and wounded 23.
The incident is the first retaliation for a drone attack that killed three soldiers and injured about 40 others at a US base in Jordan.
"Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," US President Joe Biden said.
CENTCOM reported that its forces "struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions."
Despite the US's escalating speech and retaliation, the Pentagon pointed out it does not want war with Iran.
"We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces," US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin clarified.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that Iran would not start a war but would "respond strongly" to anyone who tried to "bully" it.
Notably, the US troops have been attacked over 165 times in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan since Oct. 7, and the start of the Israeli war in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians and displacing more than 500 hundred thousand.
