US President Joe Biden on Thursday told House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi that air strikes this week against Iran-linked targets in Syria were carried out to protect and defend American personnel and disrupt a series of attacks against the United States and its partners, Reuters reported.
Biden told Pelosi in a letter that he ordered the strikes on Tuesday “consistent with my responsibility to protect United States citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests.”
On Tuesday, the US military said it carried out a strike in Syria's Deir al-Zor against infrastructure facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The military's Central Command said in a statement such strikes were aimed at protecting US forces from attack by Iran-backed groups.
The strikes were carried out at the direction of Biden, Col. Joe Buccino, the communication director for Central Command, said in a statement.
On Wednesday, three US soldiers were lightly wounded in two separate rocket attacks on facilities housing American troops in Syria.
CENTCOM later said that the US responded "to rocket attacks at two sites in Syria, destroying three vehicles and equipment used to launch some of the rockets," where the fighting occurred.