According to a number of U.S. media reports on the 2nd, the U.S. military began to carry out air strikes on targets of armed groups supported by Iran in Syria and Iraq on the same day. This is in retaliation for the death of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan in a drone attack. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the military operation would continue in the coming days.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Austin both issued statements on the 2nd, confirming that the U.S. military launched a retaliatory attack on the same day. According to the statement of the US Central Command, starting at 4 pm EST on the 2nd, the US military carried out airstrikes on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, including the command center, intelligence center, weapons and ammunition depot and other facilities of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force and its affiliated militias. The statement also noted that the airstrike used a large number of aircraft, including long-range bombers from the United States, and used more than 125 precision-guided munitions, which lasted about 30 minutes. A senior U.S. government official revealed that the U.S. will not attack inside Iran, but only targets outside Iran.
According to Syrian media reports, at least 18 pro-Iranian militants were killed in more than 20 U.S. airstrikes in the country. There were also power outages in parts of the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor.
In the early morning of the 3rd local time, a spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces said that at least 16 people were killed by US air strikes in the city of Qaim, which borders Syria on the Iraqi border with Syria. These attacks have violated Iraq's sovereignty and dealt a catastrophic blow to the security and stability of Iraq and the region as a whole. Shortly after the U.S. airstrikes were launched, the Islamic Resistance Group, an Iraqi militia, said it had launched drone and rocket attacks on the Assad Air Base in western Iraq, where U.S. troops are stationed, and two U.S. military bases in Syria.
Iranian President Raisi said he would respond forcefully to any bullying
According to a report by Iranian Press TV on the 2nd, Iranian President Raisi said in his speech on the same day that Iran has repeatedly emphasized that Iran will not start a war, but in the face of bullying by any country or force, Iran will make a decisive and strong response. He said that Iran's military power in the region is only for the purpose of maintaining regional security, and it has not posed and is not a threat to any country.
Iraqi President: The US military attack seriously undermines Iraq's sovereignty and threatens the regional security situation
The Iraqi presidential palace issued a statement on February 3 local time, saying that Iraqi President Rashid condemned the US military's attack on the Qa'em area and other border areas in western Iraq. The attacks caused a large number of casualties, seriously undermined Iraq's sovereignty, escalated tensions and threatened the security situation in the entire region, the statement said.
The statement said that Iraq had previously expressed a clear intention to resolve the military presence of the US-led international coalition in Iraq through negotiations. But the attack will undermine the chances of success of this negotiation process, as "violence only breeds and exacerbates violence".
Syrian Foreign Ministry: The US military attack violated Syria's sovereignty
On February 3, local time, the Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the U.S. airstrikes on Syrian territory in the early morning of that day violated Syria's sovereignty, territorial integrity and people's security.
The Syrian army is fighting the remnants of the extremist group "Islamic State" in eastern Syria, while the United States is working to revive its "terrorist activities".
Syria condemns this flagrant violation by the United States and rejects all the "pretexts and lies" that the United States has used to justify the attack.
Source: CCTV News Client, CCTV Finance