How the US Can Get Real With Iran
Published 01/02/24 06:00 AM ET
Cam Burks
Akey question arising from the Israel-Hamas war is what to do about Tehran’s efforts to exploit the conflict. Since October, Iranian proxies have targeted U.S. facilities in the Middle East more than 100 times. Most of these attacks have occurred in Iraq — 47, including a Dec. 8 rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad — where the United States has about 2,000 troops, and Syria, with 55 attacks, where there are fewer than 1,000 troops. The Pentagon reports 66 U.S. soldiers suffered injuries in these attacks, in which the proxies used missiles, rockets, mortars, and weaponized drone aircraft. Thankfully, most either failed to reach their targets or were shot down.
Tehran styles itself as the Palestinians’ great defender and, as is well known, expends considerable capital maintaining the so-called “Shia crescent” stretching from Bahrain in the east to Lebanon in the west. Yemen is the southern node of this encirclement strategy, and the Houthi rebels there (yet another Iranian proxy force) gained notoriety—and impacted global trade — by launching at least 100 attacks against merchant vessels in the Red Sea during mid-November to mid-December. They have promised to continue targeting commercial shipping.
Washington’s response to these predations has been somewhat limited. In Iraq, it has put pressure on Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to curb the activities of an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both have told al-Sudani in recent weeks that the Biden administration expects Iraqi officials to take stronger actions to prevent attacks on U.S. forces, adding the White House believes Baghdad has the capability to do so. During a November visit to the region, CIA Director William Burns warned al-Sudani of “harsh consequences” if his government fails to stop the attacks.
https://themessenger.com/opinion/iran-terrorism-middle-east-houthis-hamas-hezbollah-us-troops
