US military official: Biden gave directives to launch strikes

Washington announces targeting sites of "Iranian militias" in Syria, and Tehran denies it

An American soldier stands guard next to a combat vehicle in northeastern Syria.

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The US military announced that, on the order of President Joe Biden, it launched strikes in eastern Syria yesterday, targeting facilities used by groups linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, while Iran denied its connection with the groups targeted by the American strikes in Syria.

"The strikes in Deir ez-Zor province targeted infrastructure facilities used by groups linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," Colonel Joe Buccino, a spokesman for the US Army's Central Command, said in a statement. Iranian-backed groups on August 15 against elements of the United States when rallies targeted a site of the international coalition forces against the terrorist organization "ISIS" led by the United States led by the United States without causing any casualties.

"US President Joe Biden gave directives to launch these strikes," the spokesman added in the statement.

The colonel explained to CNN separately that yesterday's strikes targeted nine caches within a compound used for storing ammunition and for logistical purposes.

The US military's goal was originally to hit 11 of the 13 hideouts in the compound, but it retreated to target only two hideouts after groups of people were seen near them, Buccino said, adding that the initial assessment indicates that no one was killed in the operation.

He pointed out that "the American forces made a proportionate and deliberate move aimed at reducing the risk of escalation," explaining that "the United States does not seek a conflict, but will continue to take the necessary measures to protect and defend its people."

Hundreds of American soldiers are deployed in northeastern Syria as part of a coalition focused on fighting the remaining ISIS elements.

On the other hand, Iran stressed yesterday that there is no link between it and the groups targeted by the United States in eastern Syria, considering in a statement by its Foreign Ministry that "these strikes constitute a violation of the sovereignty of Damascus."

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that explosions resounded in Deir ez-Zor at dawn yesterday as a result of air strikes by US planes targeting Ayyash warehouses and a camp for Iranian militias in Deir ez-Zor.

The observatory added: "At four o'clock in the morning, the planes launched more than three air strikes with high-explosive missiles, which resulted in the destruction of the Ayyash warehouses and the Thunderbolt camp, which the militias take as their center."

An air strike launched by Israel in January 2021 in the same area targeted by the recent US strikes killed dozens of militants, according to the observatory.

In another context, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, said yesterday that Tehran will not allow inspections beyond what is stipulated in the 2015 nuclear agreement, while the United States is preparing to respond to a proposal to revive the agreement.

And state media broadcast a video clip of an Islamist saying: "We are committed to inspections within the framework of the nuclear agreement related to the nuclear restrictions that we accepted in the past, not one word more, not one word less."

A senior US official told Reuters that Iran had given up some of its main demands to revive the deal to curb its nuclear programme, including its insistence that international inspectors close some investigations into its nuclear program, boosting the possibility of a deal.

As the official in the Biden administration stressed that "Iran has made concessions on critical issues," he stressed that everything that was said about new American concessions is incorrect.

He added that in addition to the nuclear restrictions that Iran would have to abide by, the IAEA would once again be able to implement the most comprehensive inspection regime negotiated to date, allowing it to detect any Iranian effort to covertly acquire a nuclear weapon.

He added that "many international monitoring operations will remain in place for an unlimited period" if the agreement that is currently being negotiated is concluded.

"There are still hurdles to overcome, but if we want to reach an agreement to return to the (2015) nuclear agreement, Iran must take several important steps to dismantle its nuclear program," the official added.

He explained that among the steps that Iran must take is not to enrich uranium to a rate of more than 3.67% or store more than 300 kg of this substance, until 2031, in addition to stopping and dismantling thousands of centrifuges.

 Iran Atomic Energy Organization:

"We will only accept the inspections agreed upon in the 2015 nuclear deal."

US official:

"Iran has made concessions on crucial issues in the nuclear file."

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