U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks to Department of Defense personnel during a visit by US President Joe Biden to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on February 10, 2021.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that those responsible for carrying out last week’s rocket attack against an Iraqi base hosting American troops will be held responsible.
“The message for those who would carry out such an attack is that they expect us to do whatever is necessary to defend ourselves,” Austin said in an interview with ABC that aired on Sunday.
“We will attack if this is what we think we need to do at the time and place of our own choosing. We demand the right to protect our troops,” he said, adding that the United States is still assessing intelligence with its Iraqi partners.
Defense officials had previously said the attack had characteristics typical of an attack by Iranian-supported groups. Iran has denied involvement.
When asked whether Iran would see a potential US response as escalating tensions, the new retired Pentagon and Four-Star Army chief reiterated that Washington would do whatever was necessary to protect Americans and US interests in the region.
“What they [Iranians] What we must take from this, again, is that we will defend our troops and our response will be careful. It will be appropriate, “said Austin.” We hope they choose to do the right things, “he added.
On Sunday, the Central Command of the US Armed Forces, which oversees the wars in the Middle East, sent its fourth bomber to the region.
The force demonstration mission included two B-52H Stratofortress bombers alongside aircraft from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar at different points to “stop the aggression and reassure partners and allies of the US military’s commitment to security in the region” .
Last month, Iran rejected an invitation from global powers that signed the 2015 nuclear deal to discuss the regime’s possible return to the negotiating table, a significant setback in the Biden government’s efforts to revive the Joint Global Action Plan, or JCPOA .
The White House said the Biden government was disappointed by Iran’s decision to skip the informal meeting, but would “re-engage in meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to fulfilling JCPOA commitments”.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the National Coronavirus Combat Council (Covid-19) Meeting in Tehran, Iran on November 21, 2020.
Iranian Presidency Brochure | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The Biden government has previously said it wants to revive the nuclear deal, but will not lift sanctions until Tehran resumes it. Tehran refused to negotiate as long as U.S. sanctions remain in place.
The 2015 JCPOA, brokered by the Obama administration, lifted sanctions on Iran that hurt its economy and cut its oil exports almost in half. In exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions, Iran has agreed to dismantle part of its nuclear program and open its facilities for broader international inspections.
The United States and its European allies believe that Iran has ambitions to develop a nuclear bomb. Tehran has denied this accusation.
In 2018, then President Donald Trump kept a campaign promise and pulled the United States out of the JCPOA, calling it “the worst deal ever.” After Washington left the historic nuclear deal, other signatories to the pact tried to keep it alive.
Washington’s strained relationship with Tehran has worsened several times under the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing on Hurricane Michael in the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC, October 10, 2018.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
People gather to protest the U.S. air strike in Iraq that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who headed the elite Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Sanaa, Yemen, on January 6, 2020.
Mohammed Hamoud | Andalou Agency | Getty Images
Soleimani’s death led the regime to further reduce compliance with the international nuclear pact. In January 2020, Iran said it would no longer limit its ability to enrich uranium or nuclear research.
In October, the United States unilaterally re-imposed UN sanctions on Tehran through a snapback process, which other members of the UN Security Council previously said Washington had no authority to execute because it withdrew from the 2018 nuclear deal.
A month later, a leading Iranian nuclear scientist was murdered near Tehran, prompting the Iranian government to claim that Israel was behind the attack with US support.
A view shows the scene of the attack that killed prominent Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, November 27, 2020.
WANA via Reuters
During the summer of 2019, a series of attacks in the Persian Gulf put the U.S. and Iran on the path to greater confrontation.
In June 2019, American officials said an Iranian surface-to-air missile dropped an American military surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said the aircraft was over its territory. The attack came a week after the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region and after four oil tankers were attacked in May.
In June, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iranian military leaders accused of overturning the drone. The measures were also aimed at blocking financial resources for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Tensions rose again in September 2019, when the U.S. blamed Iran for attacks on Saudi Arabia at the largest oil processing plant and oil field in the world. Strikes forced the kingdom to end half of its production operations.
The event sparked the biggest increase in oil prices in decades and renewed concerns about a conflict that is emerging in the Middle East.
The Pentagon described the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities as “sophisticated” and represented a “dramatic escalation” in tensions in the region.
Meanwhile, Iran says it was not responsible for the attacks.