An uptick in attacks by Iran-backed regional militias on bases that house U.S. troops in the Middle East threaten to expand the risks of a larger conflict, prompting a Biden administration official to warn of a swift response on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting, was reacting to the spate of drone and rocket attacks last week on a U.S. warship as well as bases in Syria and Iraq.
Further, the Iran-backed Houthis launched five Iranian cruise missiles toward Israel last week, four of which were shot down by the USS Carney and the fifth by Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported. That incident was greater in scope than originally reported last week, according to the Journal.
The flurry of attacks also marks the end of an undeclared truce — six months of zero attacks on U.S. troops or bases in the region — between Iran and Washington, according to the WSJ. That period of detente came as the Biden administration and Iran conducted talks about the release of the six American detainees in Iran in exchange for the $6 billion in funds that belonged to Iran to be unfrozen.
While a Pentagon spokesman said Monday the U.S. has no proof that Iran has "explicitly ordered" the attacks, a Defense Department official told the Journal that "there's Iranian fingerprints all over it."
The State Department officially said the same.
"Whether they're directing them or they're not, these are militias that they have sponsored and they're responsible for," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told CNN.
Regardless, Blinken served notice to Iran and its proxies about further attacks.
"The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake. We will defend our people, we will defend our security — swiftly and decisively," Blinken said during Tuesday's meeting.
All of this comes amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Israel has vowed to soon send in a massive amount of ground forces to eradicate Hamas terrorists, sparking an equal amount of threats of retribution from Iran, Hezbollah and others if that happens.
There are "red lights flashing everywhere," a U.S. official told CNN on Monday.