Biden in air strike warning to Iran
US president Joe Biden has said Iran should view his decision to authorise air strikes in Syria as a warning.
Pent a gon of f ic ia l s defended the assault , saying several buildings used by Iranian- backed militia groups responsible for attacks on US and allied forces in Iraq were destroyed.
Biden told reporters the message he had intended to send with the strike on the Kataeb Hezbollah group was: “You can’t act with impunity. Be careful.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said members of the US Congress were noti f ied before seven missiles were launched near the Syria-Iraq border.
But several leading Congress members in Biden’s Democratic Party denounced the strikes, which were the first military actions he has authorised.
However, Republican s ena t or J im In h o f e backed it as a “correct, proportionate response”.
Whi te House press se c r e t a r y Jen Psa k i sa id Biden used hi s constitutional authority to defend US personnel.
She said: “The targets were chosen to correspond to the recent attacks on facilities and to deter the risk of additional attacks.”
Among the recent attacks cited was a February 15 rocket attack in northern Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.
A militia official said the air strikes killed one fighter and wounded several others.