Amid an uptick in drone and rocket attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East, the Pentagon signaled Monday that it is stepping up protections as additional forces are readied and moved into the area — and also that it is prepared to hold Iran and Iran-backed groups responsible.
A senior defense official, who spoke to reporters Monday about the regional fallout from Israel's bloody war with Hamas, said that they “see a prospect for much more significant escalation against U.S. forces and personnel in the near term and, let's be clear about it, the road leads back to Iran.”
The Pentagon's top spokesman, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, told reporters at a briefing Monday that there have been a growing number of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria — including one that morning — in the wake of the war that started earlier this month, and that “by virtue of the fact that they're supported by Iran, we will ultimately hold Iran responsible.”
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The news of yet another attack on a U.S. installation in the Middle East comes the week after the Pentagon confirmed three other attacks in Iraq and Syria, and the USS Carney destroyer shot down missiles and drones that the department initially said could have been aimed at israel.
“What has happened in the last several days is efforts by Iran, and Iran proxy forces, to seek to…
