Seth J. Frantzman
Jerusalem Post, Aug. 24, 2022
“The US would be more concerned about targeting IRGC members in Iraq or in Iran itself.”
US forces carried out airstrikes in Syria on Tuesday, targeting groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The airstrikes took place in the Euphrates River Valley, in the administrative region of Deir ez-Zor.
Washington said the strike was intended to defend US forces from recent attacks. A statement by US Central Command cited an August 15 attack on American forces as an example.
The airstrike is important because the US has rarely retaliated for dozens of attacks carried out by the IRGC and its proxies against its forces over the past several years. These attacks increased in 2019 and have resulted in harm to US personnel in Iraq. Under the Trump administration, the rising tensions led to America killing IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
When the Biden administration came into office, it was widely expected to dial down the previous administration’s stance. For instance, under Trump, the US sanctioned the IRGC and the Houthis in Yemen. The Biden administration rolled back sanctions on the Houthis but has so far kept them on the IRGC.
Iran had demanded that these sanctions be lifted as part of a return to the Iran deal. In short, Tehran has always demanded impunity and freedom of action for its IRGC as well as proxy and terrorist groups in the region.
Iran wants money from the West as blackmail to keep it from developing nuclear weapons while maintaining the “right” to take over Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and then use those countries to attack neighboring countries such as Israel. SOURCE