Iranian officials have called on proxy terrorist groups they support across the Middle East to tone down attacks on the United States for fear of more direct conflict with the U.S. military.
Iran began the withdrawal following the US response to an attack that killed three US soldiers operating at a base in Jordan earlier this month. Since the United States retaliated with a wave of attacks, there have been no Iranian-backed attacks on American forces in Iraq and only two in Syria, according to the New York Times.
By comparison, the United States withstood more than 100 attacks between mid-October and early February.
“They are afraid of a direct confrontation with the United States, they know that if Americans die again it would mean war,” Sina Azodi, an Iranian security expert at George Washington University, told the Times. “They had to rein in the militias and convince them that a war with the United States could harm first Tehran and then, by extension, the entire axis.”
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Iranian officials have called on proxy terrorist groups they support across the Middle East to tone down attacks on the United States for fear of more direct conflict with the U.S. military. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Iran supports and influences a faction in virtually every Middle East conflict, starting with its financial and military support for Hamas in Gaza. Tehran also funds terrorist groups operating in Iraq and Syria. It also influences Hezbollah, the terrorist organization that operates in Lebanon, north of Israel.
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Finally, Iran has also provided significant support to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have played a major role in harassing international shipping through the Red Sea amid the war in Gaza.
President Biden's administration suffered nearly 200 attacks by Iranian proxy groups before ordering major retaliation. (Probst/ullstein bild via Getty Images | NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, commander-in-chief of Iran's Quds Force, traveled to Iraq to meet with leaders of militia groups and offer new plans to avoid an open war with the United States, the Times reported, citing two Iranian officials.
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The withdrawal in Iraq and Syria comes as Israel prepares to carry out its last major operation against Hamas terrorists embedded in Rafah. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
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The withdrawal in Iraq and Syria comes as Israel prepares to carry out its last major operation against Hamas terrorists embedded in Rafah. Israeli officials estimate that a quarter of total Hamas forces remain in the area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's regime has promised that civilians “will have the opportunity to leave” before the attack.
