Militants tied to drone strike say they will halt attacks on US
Biden says he’s not looking for war
An Iraq-based, Iran-backed militant group suspected of participating in the drone strike that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan announced it was suspending attacks on U.S. military installations in Iraq and Syria.
Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, Kataib Hezbollah’s secretary-general, said the militia’s fighters would adopt a “temporary passive defense” and warned against “hostile American action.” President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he had decided on a military response to the attack but provided no details.
The announcement comes amid increasing global concerns that the war in Gaza, ignited by a deadly Hamas-led rampage into Israeli border communities, could explode into a regional conflict pitting the U.S. against Iran. Biden said he held Tehran responsible for arming the militant groups but added that the U.S. was not looking for a war with Iran.
Iran has denied involvement in the Jordan attack, saying Tehran was not privy to military decisions made by regional resistance groups. Hossein Salami, chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, warned that any military action targeting Iran would draw a response.
“We hear threats coming from American officials, we tell them that they have already tested us and we now know one another,” he said, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. “No threat will be left unanswered.”
The Pentagon’s response to the drone attack will likely involve airstrikes, sea-launched missiles and raids targeting leadership of the Iranbacked militants who have mounted more than 200 assaults on U.S. troops and commercial shipping across the Middle East, current and former officials said.
The goal will be to erode the militants’ ability to attack, to punish their leadership and to beef up defenses in the region to protect the thousands of American forces there, the officials said. The response could involve operations from Yemen to Iraq where the White House and Pentagon blame Iran for supporting local militias.
“I don’t expect a U.S. large-response, meaning a large-scale ground war,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Mark Quantock, who served as chief of intelligence for U.S. Central Command. “But I do expect Iran and its surrogates will feel the hot sting of American power.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions blocking financial transactions for three entities and an individual accused of providing “critical financial support” to an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsQuds Force and Hezbollah.
The sanctioned targets generated hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of revenue from selling Iranian commodities, the office said in a statement. Turkey-based Mira Ihracat Ithalat Petrol, which purchases, transports, and sells Iranian commodities on the global market, and its owner, Ibrahim Talal alUwayr, are among the sanction targets. Also sanctioned were two Lebanonbased companies, Yara Offshore SAL and Hydro Company for Drilling Equipment Rental.
Report: New proposal could see all hostages freed
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that 150 people had been killed in the territory in the last 24 hours and another 313 were wounded as Israeli forces continue to battle militants. The latest fatalities bring the Palestinian death toll from Israel’s offensive to 26,900, according to the Health Ministry. It does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths but says most of those killed were women and children.
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that sparked the war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and about 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel says 109 hostages remain in militant captivity and that Hamas has the bodies of 27 people.
Under a proposal crafted by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, all civilian hostages being held by Hamas inside Gaza would be released during a six-week pause in fighting, The Washington Post reported, citing officials familiar with the negotiations. Parts of the plan have been accepted by Israel and Hamas is considering it, the Post said.
The proposal also would free three Palestinians now held in Israeli jails for each hostage released. Israeli troops would be temporarily repositioned away from the most densely populated areas of Gaza and the humanitarian aid pipeline into the enclave would be expanded, the Post says. The Post sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks, said negotiations were in early stages and that any deal would take more time to consummate.