American interests in Iraq and Syria have been the target of a spate of drone and rocket attacks by pro-Iran militias since October 17, condemning Washington’s unwavering support for Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip.
“Not only the US, but the entire world has seen these destabilizing activities being carried out by agents funded by the Iranian regime for years, even decades,” Samuel Werberg, an Arabic language spokesperson of the US State Department, told Rudaw.
“There is nothing new, and the attempts from the Iranian regime and its agents to link these recent attacks to the situation in the Gaza Strip is honestly ridiculous,” he added.
Tehran and Washington are longtime foes. Iran-backed groups have over the years struck US bases and diplomatic missions in Iraq and Syria. The attacks had simmered down in recent years, but have been reignited since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israel declared war on the Palestinian Hamas movement after the group launched a multi-pronged air, ground, and sea offensive and infiltrated Israeli territory on October 7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to turn all Hamas-associated locations into “islands of ruins.”
State Department Secretary Antony Blinken is currently on his fourth trip to the Middle East since the start of the war and is set to meet with top Israeli officials on Tuesday. Washington has provided Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, but has repeatedly expressed concern that the war would spread to the rest of the region.
Werberg said that Blinken’s priority during the trip is to meet with Israeli leaders and hear their visions for the next stage of the war and plans on how to bring it to an end, stressing that “it is not the United States’ responsibility to end the war.”
“We need to differentiate between the ongoing current war between Israel and Hamas and the lasting conflict between Israelis and Palestinians on bringing about the appropriate circumstances to establish a Palestinian state,” said the spokesperson.
“The United States believes Israel has the right to defend itself just like any other country and has a responsibility to protect its people from Hamas terrorist attacks, which until this moment uses the Palestinian people as human shields,” he added.
As the latest chapter in the saga of the Israeli-Palestine conflict enters its fourth month, around 23,000 people have so far been killed as a result of the Israeli offensives in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
