The Defense Department says the U.S. military conducted airstrikes against what it says were "facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups" near the border between Iraq and Syria. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the militias were using the facilities to launch unmanned aerial vehicle attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi The U.S. launched airstrikes into parts of Iraq and Syria overnight, targeting Iranian-backed militias there in response to what the Biden administration says were drone attacks against American personnel in Iraq. The strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities in two locations in Syria and one in Iraq, though it is not immediately clear if anyone was killed or injured. The strikes are the second round ordered by President Joe Biden against Iranian-backed militias since he began his term in office. The strikes took place against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations in Vienna, Austria between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama administration-era deal lifted economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program. Returning to the JCPOA — which the Trump administration abandoned in 2018 — is a major foreign policy priority for the Biden White House. Could the new strikes derail the talks, or rather send a message that good-faith attempts at diplomacy won’t preclude military action where the administration deems it necessary? No ‘carte blanche’ for Iran For Sanam Vakil, an Iran expert and deputy head of the Middle East North Africa program at Chatham House, it’s the latter. “The strikes send a clear message that regional issues with Iran will not be ignored at the expense of the Vienna JCPOA negotiations,” Vakil told CNBC on Monday. “This is also intended to reassure the U.S.’s regional partners that a U.S. re-entry into the deal won’t result in a carte blanche to Iran.” Still, the current negotiations — where the U.S. and Iran are not talking directly, but rather via intermediaries — are expected to survive the recent military strikes. Aniseh Tabrizi, senior research fellow at London’s Royal United Services Institute, noted that Biden ordered airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria in February and talks still took place. But Iran earlier this month elected its new president, Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner with a vocally anti-Western stance. While outgoing President Hassan Rouhani supported outreach to Western counterparts and even spoke on the phone with former President Barack Obama — the first such contact between leaders of the two countries in more than three decades — Raisi has flatly rejected any prospect of meeting with Biden. With this in mind, Tabrizi doesn’t see the attacks from Iranian-backed militia in the region cooling down. “In fact, there is a chance they could even intensify,” she said. » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision » Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC » Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide. The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-news-with-shepard-smith-podcast.html?__source=youtube%7Cshepsmith%7Cpodcast Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-credit-cards/ #CNBC #CNBCTV

• published: 28 Jun 2021
• views: 79439