US military says it struck ‘more than 85 targets’
US Central Command has said its forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups.
The airstrikes were carried out at 4pm eastern time on Friday, it said.
It said US military forces struck more than 85 targets including “command and control operations, centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aired vehicle storages, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities” belonging to militia groups and their IRGC sponsors.
CENTCOM Statement on U.S. Stikes in Iraq and Syria
At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces… pic.twitter.com/q9gFDxppmo
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 2, 2024
Key events
Julian Borger
US retaliation, when it came, was broad and deep, and telegraphed five days in advance.
The White House, the Pentagon and state department had spent the best part of a week talking about the response to Sunday’s drone attack on a US base in northern Jordan which killed three Americans and wounded more than 30.
They warned that retaliation against the suspects, primary among those the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, would be “multi-tiered” and continue over many days, but when the opening salvo came in the early hours of Saturday Middle Eastern time, it still caused some surprise in its range and scale.
According to US Central Command, 85 targets were hit in seven facilities, four in Syria and three in Iraq, with more than 125 precision munitions, using a mix of drones and long range B1 bombers flying from US territory in a demonstration of the reach of the US air force.
President Joe Biden said the targets were facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and “affiliated militia”, and he made clear that it was just the beginning. The full response for the attack on the Tower 22 base would “continue at times and places of our choosing”.
For more of this analysis, click here:
US imposes sanctions over Iran cyber and missile programs, seizes $108m
The US announced new sanctions and charges aimed at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as Washington launched the retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.
They measures were among a number taken by Washington and apparently timed to coincide with deadly strikes on pro-Iran fighters.
Agence France-Presse reports the US Treasury Department said on Friday it was imposing sanctions on six officials in the cyber-electronic command of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over activities targeting critical infrastructure.
In a separate notice, the Treasury added it was also hitting a network of suppliers providing “materials and sensitive technology for Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs”.
In a third measure, prosecutors also announced they had seized $108m used in an oil laundering scheme to fund the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds force.
The moves came shortly after President Joe Biden blamed “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” for last weekend’s drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three American troops.
As the US launched Friday’s strikes, Biden warned that such attacks would “continue at times and places of our choosing”.
In issuing the latest US sanctions on Friday, the Treasury said IRGC-affiliated cyber actors recently hacked and posted images on screens of controllers manufactured by an Israeli company, Unitronics.
The department said:
Unauthorised access to critical infrastructure systems can enable actions that harm the public and cause devastating humanitarian consequences.
A State Department spokesperson added that “actors used default credentials to display an anti-Israel message” on the controllers’ interface.
Summary of the day so far
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US military forces have attacked more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in a wide-ranging air assault on sites belonging to Iran-linked militias and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard. The US military’s Central Command said it had struck with more than 125 bombs in an attack that took place around midnight local time (4pm ET) in what is being described as the first of multiple attacks against the groups. The airstrikes took place over about 30 minutes on Friday, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, Lt Gen Douglas Sims, director of the joint staff, told reporters.
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Initial reports from the ground were limited. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said at least 18 Iran-backed fighters have been killed in strikes in eastern Syria. At least 26 important sites housing pro-Iran groups including weapons depots have been destroyed in raids striking a large swath of eastern Syria, stretching more than 62 miles (100km) from the city of Deir ez-Zor to Albu Kamal, near the Iraq border, the monitoring group told AFP.
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The US strikes had been launched in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops in Jordan. On Thursday, the US said it blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-linked militias, for the deadly drone attack at the weekend on the remote Tower 22 logistics base in Jordan, near the border with Syria and Iraq. Three US army reservists were killed after a living quarters was struck at night and more than 80 wounded.
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US officials have said there were no plans to bomb Iran, which would represent a significant escalation. US administration officials have repeatedly stressed that Washington does not intend to go to war with Iran, despite the accusation that it had armed the groups behind the Tower 22 attack.
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Joe Biden warned in a statement released after the attacks began that “if you harm an American, we will respond”. The statement said: “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: if you harm an American, we will respond.” John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said the responses “began tonight. They’re not going to end tonight.”
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An Iraqi military spokesperson has said US airstrikes were launched at Iraqi border areas, warning that the attacks could ignite instability in the region. Yahya Rasool said in a statement reported by Reuters: “These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences.”
The New York Times, citing Lebanese media, says blackouts were reported in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province after US airstrikes there.
The US strikes were taken knowing that there would likely be casualties among those in the facilities, Lt Gen Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, told reporters.
“We know that there are militants that use these locations, IRGC as well as Iranian-aligned militia group personnel,” Sims said.
We made these strikes tonight with an idea that there would likely be casualties associated with people inside those facilities.
US will not strike inside Iran, say officials
Dan Sabbagh
US officials have told CNN that the US had no plan to bomb Iran, which would represent a significant escalation.
Administration officials have repeatedly stressed that Washington does not intend to go to war with Iran, despite the accusation that it had armed the groups behind the Tower 22 attack.
Iran has also previously warned the US not to launch any direct strike on Iranian territory, saying if the US acts in this way its response will be swift and dramatic.
US officials have known for a few days now that the first strikes would happen tonight, the official told CNN.
A US defense official told the broadcaster that Air Force B-1 bombers were among the US aircraft that carried out strikes today.
The airstrikes took place over about 30 minutes on Friday, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, Lt Gen Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters.
John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesperson, said the targets “were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear, irrefutable evidence that they were connected to attacks on US personnel in the region”.
The strikes appeared to have stopped short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders.
White House says there will be ‘additional responses’ after initial strikes
Julian Borger
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said US airstrikes struck three facilities in Iraq and four in Syria.
Kirby, speaking to reporters, said the Iraqi government was informed prior to the strikes. He added:
These responses began tonight. They’re not going to end tonight. So there will be additional responses. There will be additional action that we will take, all designed to put an end to these attacks and to take away capability by the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp).
Joe Biden has reiterated that the US does not seek conflict in the Middle East as he confirmed that he directed US military forces on Friday to strike targets in Iraq and Syria.
Posting to social media, the US president added:
To all those who seek to do us harm: We will respond.
Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces struck targets in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces.
We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.
But to all those who seek to do us harm: We will respond.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 2, 2024
US strikes ‘hit exactly what we meant to hit’
Julian Borger
The US has said that the 85 targets were grouped in seven different locations – four in Syria and three in Iraq.
Lt Gen Douglas Sims, director for operations on the Joint Staff, said the timing of the strikes was determined by the weather, with the best weather appearing today.
“The initial indications are that we hit exactly what we meant to hit with a number of secondary explosions associated with the ammunition and logistics locations,” he said.
Iraqi military warns US strikes could lead to ‘dire consequences’
An Iraqi military spokesperson has said US airstrikes were launched at Iraqi border areas, warning that the attacks could ignite instability in the region.
Iraqi military spokesperson Yahya Rasool said in a statement reported by Reuters:
These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences.
Death toll from airstrikes in eastern Syria rises to 18 – reports
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor has said strikes in eastern Syria have resulted in the deaths of “at least 18 pro-Iran fighters”.
At least 26 important sites housing pro-Iranian groups including weapons depots have been destroyed in ongoing raids striking a large swath of eastern Syria, stretching more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the city of Deir ez-Zor to Albu Kamal, near the Iraqi border, the monitoring group told AFP.
‘This is the start of our response’: Austin says US forces struck seven facilities in Iraq and Syria
The US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, has released a statement confirming that US forces conducted strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria.
A statement reads:
Following the attack on U.S. and Coalition Forces in northeastern Jordan this past Sunday that killed three U.S. service members, at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces today conducted strikes on seven facilities, which included more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militias use to attack U.S. forces.
This is the start of our response. The President has directed additional actions to hold the IRGC and affiliated militias accountable for their attacks on U.S. and Coalition Forces. These will unfold at times and places of our choosing.
We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces. We will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our forces, and our interests.
