Will American Troops Be Sucked Into an Israeli-Iranian War?
It looks like Israel and Iran are going to war, and the United States might join in. Two weeks ago, Israeli forces bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, and killed seven Iranian military officers, including a general. Iran has vowed to respond, The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. government expects a direct Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend.
On Friday, the State Department issued travel restrictions for staff at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, along with a warning about what to do in the event of rocket or artillery attacks. Iran has a variety of weapons that can reach Israel, from sophisticated ballistic missiles to cheap kamikaze drones.
By all accounts, the United States did not know about the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate beforehand. (U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin complained to the Israeli military about the lack of warning, The Washington Post reported.) Yet President Joe Biden has promised Israel “ironclad” support all the same.
“We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security,” Biden said on Wednesday. His press secretary added the next day that “we warned Iran not to use this attack as a pretext to escalate further in the region or to attack U.S. facilities or personnel.”
Iran has issued its own warning: not to stand in the way. The Biden administration received an Iranian message claiming that U.S. forces will become a target if they stand in the way of Iran’s retaliation, according to The Intercept. A small number of U.S. troops are stationed in Israel for air defense and intelligence sharing missions. General Michael E. Kurilla, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, is currently in Israel with them.
Iranian diplomats have had a flurry of meetings this week with foreign representatives urging Iran not to retaliate. Israel has also said that it will retaliate directly to any Iranian attack. But Iranian leaders are angry enough that they have talked themselves into a corner.
“When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech for the holiday of Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday. “The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be.”
Israel has bombed Iranian troops in Iraq and Syria before, but Iran has written these attacks off as a loss. The difference seems to be that this month’s attack targeted a consulate. Attacking diplomatic facilities is considered a major red line in i
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