US braces for more attacks on its Middle East forces – Axios

At least five American service members deployed in Iraq were injured by a rocket barrage on Monday

The US is expecting further attacks on its troops in the Middle East, as Hezbollah and Iran prepare to strike Israel, Axios reported on Monday.

Several American military personnel were wounded in a rocket strike on a US airbase in Iraq on Monday evening.

The Pentagon reported that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed the strike on Al-Asad Airbase with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

Meanwhile, Israel is bracing for attacks from both Iran and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, after the recent assassinations of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.

The Jewish State has neither confirmed or denied any involvement in Haniyeh’s killing.

READ MORE: US deploys forces to defend Israel

“The Pentagon expects more attacks by pro-Iranian militias against US forces in the region in the coming days and stressed that growing tensions in the region are making the militias feel less restrained by Iran to attack U.S. forces than they were in recent months,” Axios wrote on Monday, citing a US official familiar with the matter.

US intelligence “expects a scenario involving two waves of attacks,” one from Hezbollah and one from Iran, in combination with other regional groups, Axios cited US officials as saying.

It is “still unclear” who will strike first, and what form the attack will take, the report added.

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US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been “briefed in the Situation Room on developments in the Middle East,” the White House said in a statement on Tuesday. They discussed steps “to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel.” 

In addition, the US leadership received updates on regional threats, de-escalation efforts, and US preparations to support Israel in the event of an onslaught, the statement added.

This April, Tehran carried out a large-scale combined missile and drone barrage on Israel, in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital which killed several high-ranking Iranian officers.

This time, Iran’s leadership has promised to respond to the “terrorist attack” that killed Haniyeh in Tehran, placing the blame on Israel.

According to media reports, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz of the Iranians’ intention to attack, as Iran and Israel do not maintain diplomatic relations.