What signal has Iran sent to the United States when US military bases have been attacked one after another? What changes will Israel's intensified offensive against Hamas and the Ukrainian army's attack on the 100-year-old Russian warship bring to the war situation?
The US military base was attacked, and the Syrian president made a statement
Hello everyone, welcome to Chiming World. After the United States announced its assistance to Ukraine and Israel, the Middle East and the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield quickly became a mess. First of all, in Syria, on the evening of the 21st local time, Iraqi militia forces fired four rockets at a US military base in the Omar oil field in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria. At the same time, a drone attack was also carried out on a US military base in the northern part of the province of Hasakah in northeastern Syria.
On the evening of the 20th, the Iraqi militia also dispatched a drone to fly over the US military base near the "Koniko" gas field in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, but was subsequently shot down by the US military. On the 21st, a fire broke out in an oil pipeline in the province of Homs in central Syria, and the cause of the fire is not yet known. Reuters reported that the attack on the 21st was the first attack on U.S. forces in the region since February 2024.
At a sensitive moment when Iran and Israel are caught in a "cycle of retaliation," US military bases have been attacked one after another, and it is difficult not to suspect that Iran is responsible. As we mentioned in previous videos, the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East is very unfavorable to Iran, although Iran launched a strike on Israel for the first time, but Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries do not support this approach, and even secretly stand in the US-Israel camp. Therefore, in the face of Israel's retaliation, Iran is unable to launch a stronger retaliation, and can only carry out asymmetric attacks and harassment operations through various proxy armies.
As for Iran's attack, the United States has a very ambiguous attitude. For example, in the attack on the 21st, neither the Iraqi militia nor the US military responded, but Syrian President Assad made a rare statement.
In an interview with the Russian "Channel One", Assad said that the United States would turn any conflict into a dangerous chronic disease. Asked about the escalation of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Assad said: "In any conflict, the United States will first get rich, and then sit idly by and watch the growing chaos and wait for the moment in its favor."
Assad also said that in international affairs, the United States has repeatedly used the means of divide and rule, and used intimidation and other means to achieve its own goals. The Western countries are completely subordinate to the United States, and there is not a single politician in the West with whom he is willing or interested in engaging in dialogue.
Russia has broken through the "small calculation" of the United States, and Israel has stepped up its offensive against Hamas
Judging from Assad's statement, the attack launched by the Iraqi militia is essentially a warning from Iran to the United States, hoping that the United States will no longer take advantage of the chaos in the Middle East to "take advantage of the fire", let alone continue to provide assistance to Israel and aggravate the escalation of regional tensions. Otherwise, if an attack causes casualties among U.S. soldiers, it will have an adverse impact on Biden's election.
In addition to Assad, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova also expressed her dissatisfaction with the United States with a gun and a stick. On April 21, Zakharova said in response to the passage of the U.S. House of Representatives by the U.S. House of Representatives that after the ongoing internal squabbles, the White House actually does not believe that Ukraine will achieve a "fabulous victory", and they just hope that through assistance, they will help the Ukrainian army hold out at least until the U.S. presidential election in November, "so as not to damage Biden's image." "Thus, the suffering of Zelensky and his entourage is prolonged, and ordinary Ukrainians are used as 'cannon fodder'. Republicans also have their own interests, and they are lobbied for the US military-industrial complex, which will receive the lion's share from Ukrainian appropriations. ”
Zakharova also said that the U.S. actions made it a "de facto party to the conflict," which Russia "categorically rejected." In any case, the Kyiv regime is doomed, the goals of Russia's special military operation will eventually be achieved, and the United States will sink deeper and deeper into the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, "suffering a defeat as resounding and humiliating as the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan."
At present, both Iran and Russia have expressed their attitude towards the US aid bill and are putting pressure on the US in various ways. At the same time, Ukraine and Israel are also taking practical actions to win the support of the United States for themselves.
On the 21st, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Al-Halevi, approved the plan for the continuation of operations by the Israeli Southern Command. The IDF said the commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Finkelman, and other officers attended the meeting to "assess the situation and approve the plan for continuing operations." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also made a video address on the same day, saying that Israel would "strike harder" at Hamas during the Passover in order to increase pressure on the terrorist group to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip for more than six months.
On the evening of the 21st, Israeli Defense Minister Gallant and wartime cabinet member Gantz also held a phone call with US Secretary of State Blinken. Gallant and Gantz said in the call that they hope the United States will not impose sanctions on any IDF units. However, the US press release did not mention this content.
The United States has a contradictory attitude, and Russia has greatly expanded its military
As we mentioned in the last video, the current attitude of the United States towards the war in the Middle East is rather contradictory, and the United States neither wants a large-scale war to break out, nor does it want the war to stop. That is why there is an anomaly of aiding Israel while sanctioning it.
From the perspective of Iran and Israel, Iran hopes to force the United States to stop supporting Israel with frequent attacks, while Israel wants to drag the United States into the water with larger-scale military operations. This will undoubtedly pose a huge challenge to the Biden administration, which wants to buy off military industry interests and get through the election safely.
Now both Iran and Israel are putting pressure on the United States, and the situation is similar on the Russian-Ukrainian side. The website of Newsweek reported on April 20 that the Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said that in order to cope with a large-scale conflict with NATO, Russia is expanding part of its army.
Recently, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on the plans of the Russian Ministry of Defense to expand the newly created Leningrad Military District, which was part of the order that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of the Leningrad Military District in December last year, in response to Finland's accession to NATO.
The report says that in the Republic of Karelia, which borders Finland in the north of Russia, a missile brigade equipped with the Iskander-M ballistic missile system has been formed. A tank division is also under consideration, but a decision has not yet been made. Russia has also deployed a new air force and air defense forces in the region, including fighter and bomber regiments, as well as air defense forces and radio engineering troops.
Vladimir Valuyev, the former commander of Russia's Baltic Fleet, told Izvestia that this was a response to Finland's accession to NATO and to strengthen Russia's military posture on its western flank. He added, "Now we need to keep an eye on the Finns." ”
The accession of Finland and its Nordic neighbor Sweden has expanded NATO to 32 members, according to Izvestia. In response, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced last month that Russia would form two new armies and 30 units by the end of the year. Plans include reforming the Moscow Military District and expanding the size of the Russian armed forces from 1.2 million to 1.5 million.
The Ukrainian army attacked the "century-old ship", and Zelensky threatened to defeat Russia
It is worth mentioning that earlier Biden said that "Russia's appetite is not limited to Ukraine" and "will compete with NATO members." Putin denied this, dismissing it as "nonsense". But after winning this year's election, Mr. Putin's tone changed, calling a Russia-NATO conflict "anything is possible." This means that Russia's military expansion plan may lead to an increased risk of conflict with NATO.
At the same time, Ukraine's actions are also intensifying. According to AFP, on the 21st local time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that the Ukrainian Navy attacked the submarine rescue ship "Commune" launched by the Russian army in 1913 in Crimea and paralyzed it. The Russian side said it had successfully intercepted the anti-ship missile, but "falling debris caused a fire" and the fire was quickly extinguished.
Pletynchuk, a spokesman for the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the specific damage caused by the strike to the ship was still being verified, but the ship was "unable to perform its tasks." He added that the Ukrainian army will continue such strikes until the Russian ships run out or leave Crimea.
According to online information, the Crimean bridge has been closed, explosions were heard in Sevastopol Bay, and some witnesses said that they saw "a lot of smoke" and also saw a large number of fire trucks rushing to the place where the smoke occurred, possibly Sukana Bay or Hollandia Bay.
On the day of the attack by the Ukrainian army, Zelensky personally expressed his gratitude to the United States. In an interview with the US media, he said that the new arms assistance bill will give Ukraine a "chance to win" against Russia. In his opinion, this aid will not prolong the war. On the contrary, the sooner the United States supplies weapons, the more the Ukrainian army can preempt the advanced and the sooner the war can end. When asked about the question that Trump will force Ukraine to "cede land and sue for peace" after taking office, Zelensky said that he does not believe rumors and hearsay.