As Iraqi militias have repeatedly attempted to target military bases in Iraq housing American forces, most recently the Ain al-Asad base, the U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly considering strikes against these Iran-backed factions. Two informed sources confirmed that the Pentagon plans to seek approval from President Joe Biden to strike militias in Iraq in response to a wide range of aggressions.
One of the sources told the "Daily Caller" that the U.S. administration is "seriously considering a wide range of responses to the militias' aggression against Americans in Iraq." Another source added that "the operational plans and various options available will be discussed in the coming days within the White House through the National Security Council." The options for strikes have been under consideration since January, following the strike that targeted Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, but any strike necessitates specific personal authorization from the president.
The source also noted that officials will seek Biden's approval for such strikes soon, although no specific timeline was mentioned. The U.S. administration has remained silent on this information, with no response from the White House, and the National Security Council declined to comment, as did a Pentagon spokesperson.
Additionally, multiple sources indicated last week, according to a report by Reuters, that Iran has been reorganizing the militias in Iraq, selecting hundreds of trusted fighters from the ranks of its strongest allied militias to form smaller factions that are fiercely loyal to it, marking a notable shift away from relying on larger groups. The report revealed that these new clandestine groups were trained last year in drone warfare, surveillance, and online propaganda in Lebanon. It also confirmed that there is direct communication between these groups and officers in the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unit that controls allied militias abroad.
