News - US calls its strikes on targets in Syria message for Iran

US airstrikes on weapons and ammunition depots in Syria allegedly belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite units of the Iranian armed forces) were a “strong deterrence message” for Tehran, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, told Fox News on Friday. “This is a strong deterrence message. We hope they [Iran] get it. If they don't, if the attacks continue, then as the [US] President [Joe Biden] said, we will continue to respond,” he said. Kirby added that the strikes also indicate that the US "clearly holds Iran accountable" for several attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq. On Friday, the Pentagon reported that two US Air Force F-16 fighter jets carried out airstrikes on warehouses with weapons and ammunition that, according to the US administration, belong to the IRGC. The US military spokesperson also said that the US did not coordinate the airstrikes with the Israeli authorities, repeating that the American operation is not related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The official added that it was the first time since late March that the United States had struck Iran-linked targets in Syria. According to him, since October 17, pro-Iranian groups have carried out 19 attacks using drones and missiles against US troops.