The US armed forces conducted yesterday Thursday strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by the Revolutionary Guards, an elite body of Iran’s military, and “organizations associated with them,” announced US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The “precision strikes”, in “legitimate defense”, are “in response to a series of ongoing and largely unsuccessful attacks against US (including military) personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed paramilitary organizations” after October 17, the minister added, clarifying that they were done at the behest of President Joe Biden.

The operations were announced following President Biden’s message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning him against any attack on US troops, amid heightened concerns about the spread of the war between Israel and Hamas.

“He was given a clear message. I will not go further,” confirmed the representative of the national security council of the American presidency, John Kirby.

According to the Pentagon, American citizen succumbed to cardiac arrest suffered while taking cover during one of the attacks. Another 21 suffered minor injuries but have since returned to duty.

President Biden ordered the strikes “to make it clear that the US will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel and its interests,” according to Mr. Austin.

The strikes are “separate from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas” and do not signal “a change in our approach” to this war, the defense minister added.

Earlier yesterday, the Pentagon announced that US forces and their allies had been the target of at least 16 attacks in Syria and Iraq (12 and 4 respectively) since the beginning of the month, again blaming “paramilitary groups linked to Iran”.

Armed groups close to Iran have threatened to attack US bases over US support for Israel, which declared war on Hamas after the Palestinian Islamist movement’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7.

Last Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei accused the US of somehow “directing” Israel’s war against Hamas. On the same day, US President Biden issued a warning to Tehran against any attack against US armed forces. “My warning to the ayatollah is that if (the Iranians) continue to act against our troops, we will retaliate, and they must be ready. This has nothing to do with Israel.”

US Defense Secretary Austin said that if the “unacceptable” attacks “by Iran and its intermediaries” continue, Washington “will not hesitate” to retaliate against them again.

Washington has about 900 troops deployed in Syria and nearly 2,500 more in Iraq as part of operations against the Islamic State group.