The assassination of the Hamas leader in Iran and the fact that all parties could not help but worry about whether the situation in the Middle East would continue to deteriorate, at this tense juncture, two more striking news came from the world.
First, the US military launched another surprise attack on Iraq.
According to Xinhua, on the evening of July 30, Iraq's southern Baghdad was suddenly hit by an air strike, and several explosions occurred at a base of the Iraq militia "Popular Mobilization Organization", killing four people and injuring many others.
At the same time, United States officials revealed that the US military carried out an air strike in Iraq on the 30th for self-defense purposes.
The United States official, who requested anonymity, said the U.S. airstrike was intended to address the threat to the United States-led coalition. Subsequently, Iraq militia commanders also blamed the U.S. military for air strikes on the group.
It is reported that since the outbreak of this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Iraq US troops have been attacked by drones of Iraq militias, and United States have not fought back. But this time, the US military took the initiative to attack, and the timing of the air raid was very special.
It is reported that on the 31st, Hamas confirmed the news of the assassination of the supreme leader of Hamas in Iran, and the United States Secretary of State recently cleared up relations for United States, claiming that United States neither knew nor participated in it.
But no matter how United States makes a statement, the "axis of resistance" with Iran at the core is afraid that it will inevitably retaliate against Israel and United States. Whether the United States is really unaware is uncertain, but the US military's attack on Iraq's militia forces inevitably raises suspicions of first strike. Of course, in July this year, the air base of Iraq where US troops were stationed was suddenly attacked, and the US military was bound to retaliate.
In addition, according to Xinhua, on July 31, the spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraq armed forces also blamed the US military for attacks on Iraq militias. The historic reconciliation of the 14 Palestinian factions and the direct denunciation of the "crimes" of the US military by the Iraq government forces over the deaths of members of the Iraq militia raise questions about whether Iraq may also achieve rare unity against the US military.
Second, the first F-16 fighters have arrived in Ukraine.
According to a CCTV News report on July 31, a person familiar with the matter revealed that Ukla has received the first batch of American-made F-16 fighters provided by NATO. It is reported that the deadline for NATO to deliver F-16 fighters to Ukraine is the end of July, and NATO is almost "stepping on the point" to deliver fighters to Ukraine. However, the number of F-16 fighters in this batch is not large.
What do you think?
First of all, providing advanced fighters to Ukraine is not enough to reverse the situation on the battlefield, and the West is "squeezing toothpaste" to aid Ukraine little by little, but I am afraid that there is no intention to help the Ukrainian army defeat the Russian army as soon as possible, but to use the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to consume Russia for as long as possible;
Secondly, Russia has long been prepared for the Ukrainian army to equip F-16 fighters, and even some Russian companies have long launched rewards, promising to provide 15 million rubles for the Russian soldiers who shot down the first F-16 fighter;
Third, the Russian army once said that the F-16 fighter was destined to be shot down, and now the F-16 fighter has finally arrived in Ukraine, and it seems that it will go to the front line to fight, and now it will finally usher in a head-to-head confrontation between the United States and Russian fighters.
The combat effectiveness of the F16 fighter against the Russian army is not only a challenge to the Russian army, but also a key test of the performance of the F-16 fighter. Whether the West will provide Ukraine with a large number of F-16 fighters next, I am afraid that we will first see the actual combat performance of the first batch of F-16 fighters on the battlefield of Russia and Ukraine.
Of course, regardless of the combat effectiveness of the F-16 fighters this time, the support of the F-16 fighters will help to strengthen the strength of the Ukrainian army. It is also foreseeable that with the escalation of Western aid to Ukraine, the pressure on the Russian army may continue to escalate.