The US military said the strikes were carried out with the knowledge that there would be casualties at the sites.

The US carried out airstrikes on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria. These goals are associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and pro-Iranian militant groups.

These strikes were the first response to an attack on a US military base in Jordan. As Voice of America noted, the US military will continue operations in the region in the near future.

At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Nasser Kanaani said that these strikes represent “another adventurous and strategic mistake that will only lead to increased tension and instability.”

In turn, the Iraqi authorities summoned the US charge d’affaires in Baghdad to express a formal protest. And Iran-backed groups said 16 of their members were killed, including militants and doctors, although the country’s government had previously said that civilians were among the 16 killed.

Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes killed 23 people guarding the facilities.

Meanwhile, the director of the Joint Staff, US Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, said the attacks were successful because they were followed by large secondary explosions when they hit the militants’ weapons arsenals. He noted that the strikes were carried out with the knowledge that there would be casualties at the facilities.

Situation in the Middle East

The Pentagon has said it doesn’t want war with Iran and thinks the Middle Eastern country doesn’t want war either.

Iran seeks not to interfere in the regional conflict, although it supports groups in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria – the so-called “Axis of Resistance”, hostile to Israel and US interests.