Iran's Aggression Tests U.S. Policy Despite Biden's Threats

In spite of the serious threats made by President Joe Biden towards Iran, different attacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East have not stopped to date. According to the data available on Fox News provided by Lucas Tomlinson, since October 7, “at least 172 suspected attacks on American troops and convoys deployed in Iraq and Syria have been reported” with the recent injuries taking place at the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq and another suspected attack in Syria. The increased aggression from the part of Iran and its proxies triggers serious changes in the U.S. policies.

Due to the attacks happening to date, President Biden and vice president kamala harris have already held meetings with the national security team to evaluate their further steps and apply more efficient defense tactics. Along with that, Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, expresses his critical position on the current administrations and its inability to develop a rigid policy that is effective in imposing the necessary deterrents against Iran. In his CNN’s interview, as cited by Fox News, Pompeo states that the official authorities continue to offer too much patience to Iran that makes it “more aggressive and more powerful”.

The presented provoked conflict reveals some of the challenges related to the inability of the U.S. administration to apply credible deterrents to the Iran-backed militias. Those militias tend to use relatively cheap weapons such as missiles, mortars, and drones to attack the U.S. forces in the region. That is why the current situation constantly tests the U.S. foreign policy, and at present, it fails to offer some effective long-term safeguards.