Opinion | Why This Is The Most ‘Deceptive’ Point Of The US-Iran War

US Iran deception: Washington’s ‘defensive’ strikes mask escalatory war aims, analysts warn

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Tehran accused the United States of waging a “deceptive war” after overnight US air strikes killed 19 Iran-backed militia fighters across Syria and Iraq.

The attacks, described by Washington as “precision defensive strikes,” hit 85 targets in response to a drone attack that killed 3 American soldiers in Jordan last week.

Iran’s foreign ministry called the raids “a calculated escalation disguised as retaliation” and warned that further US action would trigger direct Iranian counter-strikes.

Iranian state television aired footage of damaged weapons depots near Deir ez-Zor, while the Pentagon released satellite images showing before-and-after shots of flattened militia bases along the Iraqi border. “They claim self-defence, yet they struck sites 600 kilometres from where our soldiers died,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters in Tehran. “This is not protection. This is expansion.”

The US Defense Department maintains it targeted only facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allied militias responsible for attacking American positions. “We hit command nodes, weapons caches, and training areas to degrade their ability to strike us again,” Lieutenant General Douglas Sims told a Pentagon briefing. Military officials privately acknowledged the strikes went beyond previous limited responses, hitting deeper inside Syrian territory than any US action since 2019.

Regional analysts argue the Biden administration’s framing masks a broader strategic shift. “Washington is using the Jordan deaths to justify a long-planned escalation against Iranian influence,” said Randa Slim of the Middle East Institute. “They call it defensive, but 85 targets across two countries looks like phase one of a wider campaign.” The strikes came hours after President Joe Biden met families of the slain soldiers at Dover Air Force Base, where caskets arrived in a solemn ceremony broadcast live on US networks.

Iran’s proxies responded within hours. Rockets fired from Iraqi territory landed near US bases at Rumaila and Kharab al-Jir, while Yemen’s Houthi movement announced it would intensify Red Sea attacks on commercial shipping. “The resistance front will not remain silent,” Kataeb Hezbollah, the Iraqi militia Washington blames for the Jordan attack, said in a statement claiming responsibility for fresh rocket fire. No new American casualties were reported.

The economic fallout spread quickly. Brent crude jumped 3.6% to $83.40 per barrel as traders priced in wider conflict risk, while shipping giant Maersk diverted 15 vessels around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi missiles. Insurance rates for Red Sea transits surged 50% overnight, according to London market data. “Every day this drags on adds $2 million to our fuel costs,” a Maersk executive told Reuters, asking not to be named because of commercial sensitivity.

European governments urged restraint while privately expressing alarm at Washington’s apparent strategy. “We warned the Americans that hitting inside Syria would open a new front,” a senior French diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. “Now we have Iranian-backed forces on three borders preparing coordinated responses.” The diplomat said EU capitals fear a repeat of 2020, when a US drone strike killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and brought the region to the brink of full-scale war.

Israel watched the exchanges with particular interest. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a brief statement backing “America’s right to defend itself,” but Israeli military sources told reporters they expect Iran to retaliate through Lebanese Hezbollah instead of direct action. “Tehran wants to keep its hands clean while bleeding the Americans through proxies,” one Israeli defense official said, speaking anonymously because of briefing rules. Israel itself struck Iranian-linked sites near Damascus early Tuesday, killing 4 Syrian soldiers according to Syrian state media.

Background

The current cycle began January 28 when a drone packed with 40 kilograms of explosives slammed into Tower 22, a remote US outpost in northeastern Jordan bordering Syria. The attack killed Sergeant William Rivers, Specialist Kennedy Sanders, and Specialist Breonna Moffett, all from a Georgia-based reserve unit. It marked the first US combat deaths from hostile fire since America’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the first attributed to Iran-backed forces since tensions peaked in 2020.

Washington and Tehran have fought a shadow war across the Middle East since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed crushing sanctions. Iran responded by backing attacks on US forces in Iraq, Saudi oil facilities, and Gulf shipping lanes while advancing its uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade levels. The cycle escalated in October when Israel’s war in Gaza prompted Iranian proxies to open fire on US bases in Iraq and Syria more than 160 times, injuring dozens of American personnel.

What’s Next

Biden administration officials say they “do not seek war with Iran” but warned further militia attacks would trigger additional US strikes. Iranian officials privately told Arab interlocutors they will wait to assess American intentions before deciding between proxy escalation or direct retaliation, according to diplomatic cables seen by AFP. The next flashpoints are expected around Thursday when another US military supply convoy is scheduled to cross from Kuwait into Iraq, and Friday when Hezbollah has promised to mark the 2020 Soleimani anniversary with unspecified actions.

The risk of miscalculation grows with each exchange. Iranian analysts note that both governments face domestic pressure to appear strong, Biden ahead of November elections and Iran’s clerical establishment amid economic collapse. “Neither side wants full war, but both are trapped in escalation logic,” said Tehran University professor Foad Izadi. “One misplaced strike on Iranian soil could change everything overnight.”