Maine manhunt enters third day and U.S. strikes targets in Syria: Morning Rundown
NBCOct 31, 2023
The Facts
The US military struck a suspected weapons storage facility in eastern Syria used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed militias on Wednesday, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The second US strike in recent weeks was carried out by two US F-15 fighter jets and was in response to recent attacks on US forces, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. He added that the US "will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people."
The Spin
Anti-Iran narrative
While the US has recently shown goodwill towards Iran, Tehran has been focusing on escalation since the outbreak of Hamas' savage war against Israel. The mullahs shy away from direct confrontation with the US and Israel and instead use their proxies to escalate the conflict. The second US strike in recent weeks was a surgical and limited response to the ongoing provocations in order to avoid escalation. However, should the Mullah regime choose to attack Israel through Hezbollah, the US will not hesitate to strike back with all its might.
Pro-Iran narrative
Washington's claims that Iran is behind the attacks on US personnel in Syria and elsewhere are baseless, as Tehran doesn't maintain order-receiving proxies. These allegations are pure projection, as it is Israel that is the proxy of the US, with Washington complicit in Israel's Gaza crimes. The strikes on US personnel illegally occupying Syrian territory are a symptom, not the cause, of escalation. Instead of carrying out senseless "self-defense strikes" and using Iran as a scapegoat, the US should instead be advocating for an immediate ceasefire.
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/4J3NU3QYCNL5XIARK4SNN2G2AU.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/ERQF5Q3HDVIQ5DUJJQOXH6DAUY.jpg)
