(NewsNation) — The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said the United States’ retaliatory strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria and Iraq was an “appropriate” response to the death of three U.S. service members in Jordan last week.
“Nations around the world need to know that if you harm American soldiers, we will strike back,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told NewsNation Friday night. “My hope is this just the beginning of an extended campaign.”
The U.S. struck more than 85 targets across Syria and Iraq, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to militias or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
The strikes are a response to a drone attack on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan that killed three troops last week. Biden and other top U.S. leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn’t be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.
Iran-backed militias in the Middle East have been attacking U.S. assets in the region since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched an assault on Israel and killed more than 1,200 people. It triggered an Israeli ground and air bombardment and then the invasion of Gaza, where more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have been targeting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea since then.
Warner said the Biden administration needs to send them a stronger message, too.
“Simply taking out their missiles is not enough,” Warner said. “We’ve got to go after their command and control.”