The United States they intend to proceed with additional strikes against Iranian-backed organizations in the Middle East, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said today, in the shadow of Iranian threats.

“We intend to proceed with additional strikes, and additional action, to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, when our people are killed,” he told NBC.

The US and Britain launched strikes on 36 Houthi targets in Yemen yesterday, Saturday, in the second day of major US operations against Iran-linked groups following a deadly attack that killed three US servicemen in Jordan last weekend.

Yesterday’s strikes targeted 13 sites in Yemen that the Houthis used to attack ships in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said, a day after the US launched a first wave of retaliatory strikes on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria that were linked with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and militias they support.

“What happened on Friday was the beginning, not the endof our response, and there will be more steps, some visible, some possibly invisible,” Sullivan also told CBS. “I wouldn’t characterize it as a military campaign with an uncertain outcome.”

Also, in separate statements on Fox News, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the strikes launched by the US on Friday night against Iranian-backed organizations are only the “first round” of action, and more action to follow.

Humanitarian issues on the priorities of Blinken’s new visit to the Middle East

Humanitarian issues in Gaza will be among the top priorities of the US Secretary of State during his current visit to the region, the White House national security adviser said.

Blinken is en route to the Middle East on a trip that will include stops in Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the West Bank this week.

One of Blinken’s biggest priorities on this trip will be the channeling of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians of Gaza which are in dire straits after months of Israeli bombardment in response to the bloody attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on 7 October.

“The needs of the Palestinian people will be at the fore,” Sullivan told CBS.

The United States believes it is vital that there be an agreement on the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during its offensive, including American hostages, and an accompanying humanitarian pause, Sullivan said.

“It is in the national security interest of the United States. We will push for it relentlessly,” Sullivan said. “So this is of utmost importance to us.” The ball is in Hamas’s court regarding such an agreement, Sullivan said, noting that the Israelis have submitted a proposal.