Iran Calls US Retaliatory Strikes In Syria 'Terrorist Aggression'

Supreme National Security Council spokesman Keyvan Khosravi issued the warning following reports about an increase in casualties of US attacks on pro-Iranian militias in Syria.

So far, militias controlled by Iran have carried out at least two attacks on US bases in northeastern Syria, with two instances of US retaliation.

According to a report by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attacks left 19 dead, including three Syrian regime soldiers and 16 members of Iran-backed forces.

The Observatory said the attacks were carried out in the early hours of Friday local time by US fighter jets and drones, targeting positions of forces led by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in Al-Bokamal desert, as well as other positions on the southern outskirts of Al-Mayadeen city and an ammunition warehouse opposite the “Officers Residences” in Harabesh neighborhood in Deir ez-Zur city.

The Pentagon said on Friday that the US military carried out the attack against militia groups who it blamed for a drone attack on Thursday that killed an American contractor, injured another, and wounded five US troops.

The US intelligence community assessed that the one-way attack drone was Iranian in origin, the military said, a conclusion that could further aggravate already strained tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Akbar Showkat told ILNA news agency in Tehran on Saturday that neither the employers nor expert workers are satisfied with production and work at factories because of the government’s wage policies.

Because of highly erratic currency rates, businesses are reluctant to take risks as there is the ever-present danger of higher inflation.

“Most of the employers’ expenses are related to working capital, which leads to an increase in the price of manufactured goods every year and as a result it puts more pressure on the workers’ lives.”

Critics say the minimum wage increase for the new Iranian year violates the labor law by disregarding the inflation rate, which is more than 50 percent, while workers received half that amount for the new Iranian year which started on March 21.

Almost 15,000 workers have signed a petition, saying the 27 percent increase in the minimum wage and benefits to 82 million rials per month ($180) for a family of 3.3 is “unfair”.

The minimum wage in Iran is determined by a council composed of government, business, and government-approved unions, and in fact it sets the income for most wage earners.

Labor representatives insist that next year’s minimum wage in the non-governmental sector should be on par with the inflation of over 50 percent, but government representatives are of the idea that salaries should increase at about the same rate that public-sector employees are set to receive.

Amir Abbas Najafi, Deputy of Khuzestan Province Red Crescent Relief and Rescue Department told Fars that “Unfortunately, two people were killed at Butan gas distribution company of Ahvaz after a 4,000-liter tank exploded.

"The fire is spreading to another tank, but firefighters are trying to put out the flames, and members of the Red Crescent are providing support at the scene of the incident," he added.

The cause of the accident is still unknown and under investigation.

Head of Ahvaz Fire Department, Ebrahim Qanbari told IRNA that the fire at the tanks should not be extinguished at once and gas should be allowed to burn out because there is a possibility of other explosions.

“The firefighters are on the scene trying to keep the tanks cool until the gas burns completely and does not spread to other parts.”

On March 14, two other people were killed in a gas pipeline explosion near Ahvaz city. "The pipeline links the gas network from Mahshahr city to Ahvaz," ISNA reported, adding that one child and a woman were killed in the blast.

Poor safety measures and Iran's aging infrastructure have been blamed by some authorities for similar accidents in the past.

There were no statements by Iranian officials by midday Saturday in Tehran, while Tasnim news agency affiliated to the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) carried the news of events in Syria without carrying any comments by Iranian officials.

The US conducted at least one major air strike early Friday after a suicide drone attack killed a US contractor and injured several servicemen at a US base in northeastern Syria.

Apparently, the US carried out more retaliatory strikes later on Friday following a second attack by Iran-controlled militias. It is not clear if these were air attacks or missile strikes. The US Central Command issued a statement saying that Friday morning at approximately 8:05 local time, “ten rockets targeted coalition forces…”

Meanwhile, these forces said in an online statement late Friday that they have a "long arm" to respond to further US strikes on their positions, after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria over the last 24 hours.

The statement, signed by the Iranian Advisory Committee in Syria, said US strikes had left several fighters dead and wounded, without specifying their nationality.

"We have the capability to respond if our centers and forces in Syria are targeted," the statement said.

According to a war monitor, at least 16 people were killed in the first US retaliatory attack, mostly local or non-Iranian personnel, while the identity of four casualties remain unknown.

President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans, after the US carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces.

"Make no mistake: the United States does not ... seek conflict with Iran but be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people," Biden told reporters during a visit to Canada.

Earlier, US officials had emphasized that the retaliatory strike was a measured response to the attack on the US base, but the follow-up attacks by Iranian-supported forces posed the question if more serious retaliation is needed to deter Iran.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted that “The Biden administration could learn something from the Trump Administration about deterrence…The targets the Iranians fear most are their refineries. For every attack against Americans in the future, take down an Iranian refinery and their oil and gas infrastructure.”

In fact, former President Donald Trump who ordered the killing of IRGC’s Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020, had earlier refrained from retaliation against Iran when Saudi Arabia’s vital oil installations came under Iranian drone and missile attacks in September 2019.

Other critics argued that targeting Iran’s proxies is not a real deterrent, since the purpose of having these forces is exactly to offer “plausible deniability” by Tehran.

The main reason for Soleimani’s killing according to the Trump Administration was his efforts to organize more attacks on US troops in the region.

Congresswoman Joni Ernst tweeted, “Iranian proxies have attacked US servicemembers nearly 80 times. What has President Biden done about it? Cozied up to Iran in hopes of a fanciful and flawed “nuclear agreement,” & failed to hit Iran’s regime where it hurts, their wallets, by enforcing much-needed sanctions.”

Iran's Secretary of the Shipping Association, Masoud Polmeh however noted that so far there have been no tangible actions leading to significant investment by the Chinese.

He added that “certainly, the Chinese government has not made any investment in Iranian key port city of Bandar Abbas.”

Polmeh also raised hope that the political agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia could pave the way for signing economic agreements.

China officially opened its Consulate General in Bandar Abbas in December 2022. The opening of the consulate was described as an opportunity to practically implement a 25-year deal between Tehran and Beijing signed in 2021 and China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy to invest in nearly 150 countries.

The BRI, originally named, “One Belt, One Road,” is an international development strategy as China looks to expand its influence worldwide by improving trade routes. As of December 2021, China had expanded its’ BRI—which includes infrastructure developments across land corridors, in ports, across maritime routes, as well as over-land links (bridges, tunnels, etc.)— into 142 countries. Developing diplomatic relations with Iran is crucial to China’s ability to implement the BRI.

Bandar Abbas, the most important Iranian port is also home to a large Revolutionary Guard navy base.

Many Iranians criticize the government's policy of forging deeper relations with China while not resolving disputes with the United States and Europe over its controversial nuclear program.