KEY POINTS
- U.S. officials have reportedly approved plans for strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday that attacks on American troops will not be tolerated
- The timing of the planned strikes will depend on weather factors, a report said
Plans for multi-day strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq have been approved by the U.S., CBS News reported on Thursday, citing U.S. officials.
The strikes against multiple targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities inside Iraq and Syria, reportedly come as retaliation to drone and rocket attacks targeting U.S. forces in the region, including the Sunday drone attack that killed three U.S. service members and injured 41 others at the Tower 22 base inside Jordan, close to the Syrian border.
The U.S. blamed the attack on an Iranian-backed militia group, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
"The President will not tolerate attacks on American troops, and neither will I," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday.
Lloyd said this is a "dangerous moment in the Middle East," and the U.S. will work to avoid a wider conflict in the region.
"This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East. We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests, and our people. And we will respond when we choose, where we choose, and how we choose," he added.
The timing of the planned strikes in Syria and Iraq will depend on weather factors, the U.S. officials told CBS News.
President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday that he has decided on how to respond to the deadly drone attack in Jordan. He also said he did not want to expand the war in the Middle East but did not provide further details.
"I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East," Biden said at the White House before leaving to Florida for fundraising. "That's not what I'm looking for."
