On Wednesday, American troops stationed at a military base located in Iraq were attacked by a large number of Katyusha rockets, which made landfall inside the base.
According to a report from the Associated Press (AP), an Iraqi officer detailed how an Iraqi base that was housing American troops in the Anbar province, located in Western Iraq, “was hit with five Katyusha rockets on Wednesday evening.” In addition, the AP also noted that “three other rockets fell outside the base’s parameter.”
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, observed that American-led coalition forces at the Iraqi base were subsequently forced to enter shelters as a result of the “barrage” of rocket attacks.
Fortunately, sources at the scene have remarked that neither casualties nor significant damage have been reported thus far from the rocket attacks.
Over the past several months, various American officials have warned about potential attacks from Iran-backed proxies, which serve as retaliation for American forces killing Qassem Soleimani. Previously, Soleimani served as the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF), which has been designated by the United States as a terrorist organization since 2020.
According to Reuters, two drones laden with explosives were shot down by air defenses in Iraq on Tuesday “as they approached the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. forces.”
Reuters also notes that a similar attack was thwarted on Monday, namely “when Iraqi air defenses downed two drones as they approached a base hosting [American troops] near Baghdad’s international airport.”
The attacks have emerged in response to the Biden administration’s desperate efforts to reenter Iran into a highly controversial nuclear agreement. Many critics have charged that the nuclear agreement accomplishes little, if anything, in terms of preventing Iran from acquiring deadly nuclear capabilities.
Naftali Bennett, the current Prime Minister of Israel, proclaimed that his nation was prepared to take aggressive action against Iran, especially as Iran rapidly approached the point of having sufficient material to create a nuclear bomb. Israel has long vowed to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear bomb.
In a recent speech to the United Nations (UN), Bennett also declared that Iran has been behind an enormous amount of turmoil and violence that has long plagued the Middle Eastern region. The Israeli prime minister also charges that Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism on a global level.
“Iran’s nuclear weapon program is at a critical point,” Bennett stressed, arguing that the nation “is currently violating the IAEAs safeguard agreements.”
“[Iran has enriched] Uranium to the level of 60 percent, which is only one step short of weapons-grade material,” Bennett continued, noting that the nation is “getting away with it.”
Ultimately, the nation’s “nuclear program has hit a watershed moment,” Bennett concluded, “and so has our tolerance.”