On Sunday, the U.S. and Britain launched airstrikes, for the second day in a row, against the Houthis, the Iran-backed Yemeni group that has been harassing international shipping in the Red Sea. America also attacked Iran-linked targets in Syria and Iraq on Friday. Perhaps more importantly, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan promised that there will be “additional action” against Tehran’s regional proxies in response to the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan. Sullivan declined to make any guarantees that the U.S. won’t attack inside Iran.
Reuel Marc Gerecht has argued that only retaliation inside their borders will deter Iranian leaders, which would mean that this weekend’s display of force won’t achieve its aim. Ron Ben-Yishai, by contrast, takes it more seriously:
Some 85 targets were struck by fighter jets and cruise missiles, far more than the ten or so attacks after previous and even more deadly attacks on U.S. forces. The targets chosen were strategic. This was not a response to the source of fire or direct retaliation against the militias who launched the killer UAVs at the American base [in Jordan]. These were strikes targeting the logistical and operational center of the Shiite militias which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had established for them on the border between Syria and Iraq.
Until now, [U.S.] attacks against the Houthis were considered warnings, but on Saturday they were more extensive and lasted for a longer period of time, again as an indication, and a message to Iran, that America means business. . . . What is becoming apparent is that the U.S. decided to destroy systematically the military network of Iran’s proxies as well as that of the IRGC, used to attack Israel and the West.
What the U.S. and the UK along with their allies are doing by attacking the IRGC and their proxies is akin to what Israel is doing to Hizballah across its northern border.
Read more on Ynet: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1g5pg696