Iran says strikes on US troops are due to its support for Israel, presence in region

Islamic Republic urges Washington to change its ‘wrong policies’ to stop wave of attacks since Israel-Hamas war erupted; Tehran Jews hold rally denouncing Israeli offensive

File: a US AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flies above US soldiers patrolling along the frontlines between areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed fighters near the village of Dardara in the countryside of Tal Tamr in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province, December 26, 2021. (Delil souleiman/AFP)
File: a US AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flies above US soldiers patrolling along the frontlines between areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed fighters near the village of Dardara in the countryside of Tal Tamr in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province, December 26, 2021. (Delil souleiman/AFP)

Iran said Monday that attacks on US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the region were a result of “wrong American policies,” including Washington’s support for Israel in its war against the Hamas terror group.

US forces have come under repeated attacks in Iraq and Syria since 2,500 Hamas gunmen poured across the Gaza border on October 7, slaughtering at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seizing at least 239 hostages, under the cover of a deluge of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.

Israel has responded with intensive strikes on Gaza and a gradually expanding ground operation, declaring its intention to eradicate the terror group that rules the Strip.

“The attack on American bases in the region, especially in Iraq, is the result of wrong American policies in the region, which we hope it will correct,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

He said the attacks were carried out by groups that oppose “the US presence in the region” and “American support for the crimes of the Zionist regime.”

“You reap what you sow,” he said, urging the United States to stop backing Israel.

Iran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has hailed the October 7 onslaught as a “success” but denied any involvement.

The Iranian army’s chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri said Monday that Hamas was “ready for an Israeli ground attack.”

Iranian Jews including Chief Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar (2nd right), hold an anti-Israel gathering in Tehran in support of Palestinians in Gaza on October 30, 2023. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Earlier on Monday, some 200 protesters, including Iranian Jews, gathered at a synagogue in Tehran to call for a ceasefire and condemn “the massacre of children, women and defenseless people” in Gaza.

Prominent figures in the Jewish community of Iran intermittently issue anti-Israel statements that match the regime’s agenda. Iran is openly sworn to Israel’s destruction and financially supports terrorist groups, like Hezbollah and Hamas, that are also committed to this aim.

Iran has repeatedly warned of the possibility of the Israel-Hamas war expanding to other parts of the region.

The White House has accused Tehran of “actively facilitating” attacks on US forces in the Middle East.

On Thursday, the US military said it struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said Iran sees it as “its duty to support the resistance groups” but has insisted that they “are independent in their opinion, decision and action.”

The United States has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State terror group.

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