Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that while the United States is not seeking war with Iran, Washington will not hesitate to “defend our security” after a series of attacks against Iranian forces. Americans in Iraq and Syria by representatives of Tehran.
There have been at least six publicly acknowledged attacks against US military sites in the Middle East over the past week, prompted by the Israeli response to the Hamas surprise terrorist attack on October 7.
“Let me say what we have consistently said to Iranian officials through other channels: The United States is not seeking a conflict with Iran, we do not want this war to expand,” Blinken said in Turtle Bay. “But if Iran or its proxies attack American personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security quickly and decisively.”
Iranian-backed forces have attacked military bases in Iraq and Syria housing U.S. personnel with drones, missiles and rockets almost daily since Oct. 17, according to the Pentagon.
On October 19, the destroyer USS Carney also shot down missiles in the Red Sea that were believed to have been launched by Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen into Israeli territory.
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Other Iranian proxies believed to be behind the attacks include the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas itself, which carried out the gruesome murders of more than 1,400 people across southern Israel, including at least 33 Americans. .
“We know that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and that Palestinian civilians are not to blame for the killing committed by Hamas,” Blinken told the Security Council. “Palestinian civilians must be protected. That means Hamas must stop using them as human shields.
“It is difficult to think of a more cynical act,” he added.
Iran uses money, weapons and logistical support to back radical terrorist groups throughout the Middle East to counter its regional rival Saudi Arabia and fight its enemies Israel and the United States. Its representatives include:
- Hezbollah of Lebanon: The “Party of God” was founded in 1982, a name chosen by Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, and sent 1,500 Revolutionary Guards to train its fighters. The group has become a “shadow nation” within Lebanon and was used by Iran to attack Israel and prop up Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War. Since the Hamas attack, Hezbollah has fired rockets at Israel and Iran has threatened to launch an all-out attack in the north if Israel invades Gaza.
- Hamas of Gaza: The “Islamic Resistance Movement” was founded in 1987 and has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. It has control of Gaza and exerts influence in the West Bank. Despite religious differences with Iran, the group shares the goal of exterminating Israel. Intelligence shows that Iran knew about and supported Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel.
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad of the West Bank: Sometimes an ally and sometimes a rival of Hamas, it also receives funding and weapons from Iran and seeks the overthrow of Israel. Over the weekend, an Israeli airstrike hit a command center used by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, a sign that the West Bank could be used to attack Israel as it sends troops to Gaza.
- Spies in Jordan: King Abdullah II of Jordan has friendly relations with the United States, which Iran seeks to disrupt. The nation’s government was nearly overthrown by the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1970s and there are concerns that Iran is funding anti-government terrorists in the country.
- Syria’s Assad: Syria is Iran’s closest ally since the two nations aligned against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. During the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Iran helped keep President Bashar al-Assad in power by providing him with technical and personnel support. Since the Hamas attack, Syria claims that Israel has dropped bombs on airports in Syria, which will likely disrupt the flow of Iranian supplies and weapons. Syria fired artillery into Israeli territory. Meanwhile, a drone attack by an Iranian-backed group wounded US troops at the Al-Tanf base. While Assad may not go so far as to declare war on Israel, he is happy for Iran to use his country to provide support to Hezbollah and Hamas.
- Yemen’s Houthis: Islamic rebels who want to overthrow the Yemeni government (left). Their motto is “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse to the Jews and victory for Islam.” It has become a proxy war for Iran, which backs the rebels, and Saudi Arabia, which supports the current president, Rashad al-Alimi. Last week, the Houthis fired nine cruise missiles and 15 drones toward Israel over a nine-hour period. They were shot down by the USS Carney, a destroyer that the United States had sent to the Red Sea.
- Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah: Iran backs several groups in neighboring Iraq and, since the fall of Saddam Hussein, has pushed for the formation of a Shiite-backed government. But Kataib Hezbollah, the “Party of God Brigades,” may be the most dangerous. It has carried out a series of attacks against US forces. General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was advising the group when he was killed by a US strike in 2020. Since the Hamas attack, drones and rockets have been fired by Kataib Hezbollah and other Hamas-backed groups. Iran against Ain. al-Asad air base used by the United States.
- Al-Ashtar Brigades of Bahrain: Shiite group seeking the overthrow of Bahrain’s monarchy, with the support of Iran.
Blinken also urged other members of the Security Council to “tell Iran and its proxies publicly and privately” not to “open another front against Israel in this conflict” to prevent unrest from spreading throughout the region.
“We urge members to go one step further: make clear that if Iran or its proxies expand this conflict and put more civilians at risk, you will hold them accountable,” he said. “Act as if the security and stability of the entire region and beyond are at stake, because they are.”
The latest attacks total four in the last 24 hours against Iraqi military bases that house US forces in Iraq.REUTERS
Blinken then went on to boast about the $1.6 billion the Biden administration has provided to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank since taking office in January 2021 and called on “all countries, particularly those with the greatest capacity to donate , to join us to meet the UN objectives.” appeal for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
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“At the heart of our efforts to save innocent lives in this conflict, and in every conflict, is our fundamental belief that every civilian life is equally valuable,” he said. “There is no hierarchy when it comes to protecting civilian lives. A civilian is a civilian is a civilian, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, age, gender or faith.
“That is why the United States mourns the loss of each and every innocent life in this crisis, including men, women, children, the elderly, Muslims, Jews, Christians, innocent Israelis and Palestinians, of all nationalities and religions. “he added.
The secretary further pledged that the United States would continue to work with the United Nations “to build mechanisms that allow sustained humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza without benefiting Hamas or any other terrorist group.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn