Iranian-backed militant groups claim to have launched at least 150 attacks against American forces in the region in 2021 alone.
A video posted on the social media site Telegram by the Kawthariyoun Electronic Team, a channel associated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, indicates the United States faces immediate danger amid Biden administration efforts to pull forces from Afghanistan and decrease the U.S. footprint across the region. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a jihadi watchdog group that monitors these communications, translated the terrorist group's latest propaganda film.
A one-minute video posted on Telegram, which is preferred by terrorist groups due to its anonymity, showed a militant "pointing to a map of Iraq to show the geographical distribution of military housing U.S. forces," according to MEMRI. "The battle with the American forces is a battle over who will control the border strip between Iraq and Syria," the militant was quoted as saying as he described a number of attacks directly aimed at American positions.
The terrorist groups claim to have doubled the number of attacks between April and July this year, indicating that Iran's armed proxy groups have no intention of pulling back as the Biden administration engages in diplomacy with Iran aimed at inking a revamped nuclear deal. The video also claims to have disrupted communication between U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Syria. While the Defense Department is pulling U.S. forces and military equipment from the region, citing a decreased threat from Iran, the sheer number of attacks by these militant groups is likely to raise questions about the Biden administration's pivot away from the Middle East.
Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), a member of the Republican Study Committee's foreign affairs task force, expressed concern this week that the Biden administration is seeking to appease Iran and jumpstart the stalled negotiations by agreeing to remove several American anti-missile batteries from allied countries in the area, including Saudi Arabia, a chief target for Iranian militants. Steil is demanding the administration brief members of Congress about the decision and provide evidence about its claim that Iranian militants now pose a reduced threat, according to a letter the lawmaker sent to the White House and obtained on Monday by the Washington Free Beacon.
The new information about Iranian-backed attacks contradicts the Biden administration's claim that Tehran has slowed its regional terrorism operation due to American diplomacy over the nuclear accord.
Iranian militants claim to have cells operating in key Iraqi territories that have allowed them to thwart U.S. communication between American forces in Syria and Iraq.
The video also tracks a series of "ground attacks" against U.S. interests throughout the year. Militants claim to have conducted 95 operations, including 23 in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad alone. Altogether, 150 separate attacks have been conducted this year, they say.