US does not seek Iran conflict, says Joe Biden. Then explain | World news
US President Joe Biden has said the US is not seeking conflict with Iran but will respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel, a day after a US contractor was killed and six Americans were injured in an attack blamed on the group associated with Iran in Syria.
Biden visited the neighboring country of Canada this week where the US President and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the progress made under the February 2021 Roadmap for a New US-Canada Partnership.
“And to make a mistake: the United States does not – does not, I emphasize – seek war with Iran, but is prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people,” Biden said while speaking to reporters in a joint statement. . with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday.
Before beginning his address, President Biden said his national security team was on its way there regarding an attack in Syria on Wednesday.
“A group of Iranian-backed forces used an unmanned aerial vehicle to attack one of the US facilities, causing several American casualties. One of our citizens unfortunately died in that attack,” Biden said.
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He also added that the US has ordered an immediate response. And the US military carried out several airstrikes in Syria on Thursday night targeting those responsible for attacking US personnel.
“My heart and deepest condolences go out to the American family we lost, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” he added.
“I am also grateful for the work of our service members who made this response so efficient,”
He also said that the US will continue its efforts to counter terrorist threats in the region, in partnership with Canada and other members of the coalition, to defeat ISIS.
“Through NATO, we are sure that we can meet any threat,” he added.
He also said that the United States, NATO, G7, Quad, ASEAN, Japan and Korea are all working for global security and will fight any threat.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau added to Biden’s statement that interference by authoritarian regimes, such as China, Iran, and others, is a challenge to democracies.
Asked what would be the ultimate cost if Iran continues to target Americans, “We’re not going to stop,” Biden replied.
The president’s comments marked his first public comments since the US carried out a strike Wednesday evening on Iranian facilities that the Pentagon said were affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, CNN reported.
The response came after an Iranian suspect attacked a facility housing US workers in the country, killing an American worker and injuring five US service members.
On Friday, another US service member was injured but in stable condition after a rocket attack near oil and gas fields known to Conoco in Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, a US official confirmed to CNN.
“On the evening of March 24th, two attacks targeting the US and coalition forces in Syria. At 10:39 p.m. Syrian local time, several rockets targeting coalition forces in the Support Area Conoco page,” the official said.
The official said that the second attack took place “at approximately 11:23 p.m. Syrian local time when three aircraft were attacked targeting the Green Village. Two of the three unmanned aircraft were attacked by coalition air defense systems.”
The attack on the village of Green – a US base in northeastern Syria – did not result in casualties but left one house damaged, the source said, CNN reported.
Earlier on Friday, 10 rockets targeted Green Village, where some 900 US troops in Syria are based. There were no injuries to US or coalition personnel, and no damage to facilities, the Pentagon said in a statement. One rocket, however, missed coalition equipment by five kilometers and hit a civilian house, injuring two women and two children, a CENTCOM statement said.
The number of casualties from the US airstrike is still being determined, the official said.
The governments of Syria and Iran have not commented publicly, but the Iranian state-run TV said that a military source in Syria said that “the resistance groups have the right to respond to the American attack and they will carry out the reform ,” as reported by CNN.
The Biden administration has carried out airstrikes against forces allied with Iran on several occasions following previous attacks on US facilities in the region.
In December 2021, Biden’s first known military action was to carry out attacks against Iranian-backed forces after the attack on US troops in Iraq. And in August, the US attacked a group of bunkers used for weapons storage and logistical support by Iranian agents in Syria, after rockets landed near another US facility.
